


Life Is Strange - The Written Adaptation

by LifeIsStrangeAF



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Adaptation, Arcadia Bay (Life is Strange), Blackwell Academy (Life is Strange), Canon Compliant, F/F, Game: Life is Strange (2015), Inspired by Life Is Strange, Novelization, Rewind Powers (Life Is Strange)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:20:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 50,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22940083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LifeIsStrangeAF/pseuds/LifeIsStrangeAF
Summary: "I opened my eyes which I had clenched shut in anticipation of being crushed and looked around. "Alfred Hitchcock famously called film, little pieces of time but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was-" I heard faintly as I tried to refocus. I was in class, Mr Jefferson was lecturing, nothing unusual was happening."The game Life Is Strange made by Square Enix and Dontnod, has a gripping story of love, time travel, action, and decisions. I want to bring this amazing story to non-gamers as well as people who are as interested in the game as I am.  All credit for the original story goes to its creators, I'm just going to write down a version of it.I am referring to the game (various playthroughs of my own), Eurogamer's playthrough on youtube, and scripts on the Life Is Strange Wiki.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield & Chloe Price, Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Comments: 8
Kudos: 19





	1. 1.1

**Author's Note:**

> The early chapters of this were written by me years ago, when I was 16. I have amended some errors that I've come across but I ask the reader to keep this in mind. Later chapters which I am currently writing are slightly more original. They closely follow the game but there is less exact quoting/copying, and I hope readers will find the writing improves.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update: There were some technical issues with ao3 duplicating a section of text over and over, from my end this appears to be fixed. Let me know if it's not.

_I stand up and look around, trying to work out what is happening, how I got here, and where the hell I am. I look down at myself, my knees and palms are caked in mud, I had been down on all fours and, from what I could tell, blacked out. Wind lashes at my body, sending a violent shiver through me and making me aware of the fact my clothes are drenched by the rain I am standing in. 'Shit...' I say, quietly into the wind, as I work out where I am, despite not having been here in years. I haven't left Arcadia Bay, I am in the woodland near the lighthouse. A tree nearby falls and reveals a terrifying view of a violent gray tornado churning up the sea and everything along the coast of Arcadia. I look up, the lighthouse stands tall and firm, just out of the way of where the storm seems to be heading. I run towards it, somehow knowing that I have to. The wind is powerful and the ground slippery, I'm not even sure if I'm on the right path. Then, it gets stranger, a ghostly doe appears and trots one way up a path in front of me, I know the doe is heading for safety so I follow it up the hill to the base of the lighthouse. The doe is gone upon reaching the top by the lighthouse, this place seems a lot less safe than it had when I was in the woods and I feel horribly exposed as the elements threaten to push me off and down into the churning waters below. I turn to look at the lighthouse as a large uprooted tree is thrown through the air into the side of the structure causing the light to break free and plummet towards me._

\---

I opened my eyes which I had clenched shut in anticipation of being crushed and looked around. "Alfred Hitchcock famously called film, little pieces of time but he could be talking about photography, as he likely was-" I heard faintly as I tried to refocus. I was in class, Mr Jefferson was lecturing, nothing unusual was happening. I looked down at my clothes. _Dry. What the hell?_ I looked around the room, Victoria was sucking up, answering every question Jefferson had for us. When he looked away she threw a paper ball at Kate. _What was she, 15?_ I tutted slightly louder than I should have but one heard over the dialog about Diane Arbus that Victoria and Jefferson had going on and the sound of a phone ringing. Now I had calmed down this seemed to be a normal, slightly boring class at Blackwell Academy, I leaned back and thought about how weird it was to be in Arcadia Bay again, my hometown. I had been back a month since moving away to Seattle 5 years ago and leaving my life here behind. It was weird to be back, and it had just got a whole lot weirder. I tried to put the strange tornado thing out of my mind, it didn't seem like a dream but it must have been. Either that or a very intense day dream. I glanced at my desk, my pencil case, photography books, camera, and bag were all there unmoved. I picked up my beautiful old fashioned instant camera and snapped a quick selfie because I felt like it.

"Hmm I believe Max has taken what you kids call a 'selfie' a dumb word for a beautiful photographic tradition, and Max, has a gift. However your generation was not the first to use the self portrait for 'selfie-expression...' sorry I couldn't resist... Anyway Max as you've caught our attention and clearly want to join the class perhaps you could tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self portraits?" Mr Jefferson said looking at me expectantly.

 _Shit. What do I say now..._ "I did know... But I kinda forgot." I answered pathetically.

"Not good enough Max, you either know this or you don't. Now can anyone else tell me the answer?"

Of course Victoria's hand shot up and she began explaining the Daguerreian process to Jefferson. She then turned and mocked me. _Whatever_. I looked down at my desk again, Mr Jefferson, or 'Mark' as Victoria called him, was holding an 'everyday hero' photo competition. My entry was on the desk. For me my photography and all the amazing people in my photos were the real heroes and I had taken a beautifully lit photo of me, with my back to the camera, in front of my wall of pictures, the place on my wall where I hang all my photos. The image was taken so that the people in the photos were the focus. But I didn't think it was okay, this surely wasn't right for the competition and I should have gone and taken a photo of someone doing something heroic, I tucked it back in my bag. The bell eventually rang, thank goodness, I needed a serious time out in the bathroom after Victoria showing me up like that and the weird tornado vision. Everyone got up and left as Jefferson yelled after them about not forgetting their everyday hero entries, except Victoria who was leaning over his desk and trying to talk to him and Kate who was sitting at her desk staring down sadly. I went over to Kate. The ball of paper that had been thrown at her was lying on the floor behind her desk, I glanced at it and noticed writing, "Dear Kate, we love your porn video xoxo." _Seriously?_

"Hi Kate" I said softly.

"Oh, hi Max."

"You seem quiet, you okay?" I asked.

"Just thinking too much."

"Want to grab a cup of tea and bitch about life?" I suggested.

"I have homework so not now but yeah, maybe some time, thanks Max."

"No problem, bye Kate." I headed towards the door but Jefferson called me back.

"Don't think I'd let one of photography's future stars leave without handing in her photo Max. Excuse us Victoria." He said, and Victoria left. Just the thought of handing in my pathetic photo to him made my stomach flop.

"Do I have to? I just don't think it's that big a deal." I mumbled.

"Max you're a better photographer than a liar. Now I know it's a drag to hear some old dude lecture you but life won't wait for you to play catch up. You're young, the world is yours, blah blah blah right? But you do have a gift, you have the fever to take images, to frame the world the way only you envision it. Now all you need is the courage to share your gift with the world. And that is what separates the artist from the amateur. Off you go if you're not going to hand it in now but don't think you're getting off that easy."

I stepped out into the noisy corridor and put my headphones in, and leaned against the wall, taking a moment.

\---

With my headphones in and a relaxing indie rock song playing in my ears I took a deep breath before walking down the corridor. I passed my fellow students, one or two of whom I knew but I hadn't really been here long enough or made enough of an effort to get to know them. It occurred to me that the ones who weren't part of Victoria's 'Vortex Club' were probably interesting people, I probably had a lot in common with the rest of Jefferson's class who are all photography nerds like me. I paused by the notice board in the hall, the usual anti bullying posters and study clubs were there but a couple of new things caught my eye. A missing person poster, 'Rachel Amber' it said she was 19 and went missing from Arcadia Bay on the 22nd of April 2013. There was a picture and a description listing two tattoos, blonde hair and hazel eyes. I wondered what had happened and hoped she would be found soon. I looked at the rest of the notice board, there was a vortex club poster for a party they were putting on. From what I could tell the vortex club was an elitist group of students like Victoria and her friend Nathan Prescott whose parents owned half of Arcadia. They got permission to use the school as a venue to throw big parties, show off, and drink. I wasn't even sure how they were allowed to do any of it but I doubted principal Wells would dare tell a Prescott off for anything anyway.

I carried on to the bathroom. _Good it's empty no one can see my meltdown_. I splashed water on my face and looked in the mirror. 'Max you have a gift' I repeated to myself as I took out my photo. _No, I can't show this crap to the famous Mark Jefferson_ , so I found myself ripping it in half and chucking it onto the dirty bathroom floor. The competition is optional so he can't nag me anymore. I looked up, a blue butterfly flew into the bathroom through a high up window behind the rack of stalls. _No way, this would be one heck of a photo opportunity._ Carefully I walked behind the stalls and managed to catch a close up photo of the beautiful little insect just before it flew off. As I was about to come out from behind the stalls the door opened. Nathan Prescott came in. What the hell was he doing in the women's bathroom?

"It's cool Nathan... Don't stress. You're okay bro, just count to three." he said to himself. "Don't be scared... You own this school, if I wanted I could blow it up. You're the boss." He continued giving himself a hard stare in the mirror.

A girl dressed in punk clothes with bright blue hair protruding from under a beanie barged in to the room. "So what do you want?" Nathan asked composing himself again. The girl pushed a couple of the stalls open and concluded that the bathroom was empty.

"I hope you 'checked the perimeter' as my step-ass would say. Let's talk business."

"I've got nothing for you." Nathan said firmly.

"Wrong, you got hella cash."

"That's my family, not me." He sneered.

"Oh boo hoo poor little rich kid, I know you've been pumping drugs and shit to kids round here." She smiled. "I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them.. Man I can see the headlines now."

He turned and shoved her against the bathroom door. I leaned back to avoid being seen whilst wondering if I should intervene. "Leave them out of this bitch." He spat at her.

"I can tell everybody Nathan Prescott is a punk ass who talks to himself and begs like a little girl." She said.

Then Nathan drew out a gun and shoved it against her stomach pinning her against the door with it. "You don't know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with."

"Where'd you get that? What are you doing? Put that thing down." She sounded scared now.

"Don't ever tell me what to do, I'm SICK of people trying to control me!"

"You're gonna get in hella more trouble for this than drugs."

"Nobody would even miss your punk ass would they?" He snarled.

"Get that gun away from me psycho!" She shouted, and almost as though I was seeing in slow motion I lunged out from behind the stalls with my arms outstretched, the girl pushed him, and Nathan's finger tightened on the trigger peppering her body with bullets. Then everything slowed even more as she fell to the floor, the instant her body impacted with the floor she started moving up again and everything started moving in reverse at top speed. "...About photography, as he likely was." Mr Jefferson said.

_What the actual fuck._

I'm in class, I already heard this lecture. I was in the bathroom... I raised my hands... Now I'm here again. Victoria threw paper at Kate again. I knew if I heard the phone ringing again that something weird was happening. The phone did ring. It made me jump and accidentally knock my camera off the table. It landed on the floor where it smashed. I felt sweat on the back of my neck. No one looked at me. Okay, if I'm actually crazy and I can reverse time or something sci-fi like that, maybe I can not break my camera. I thought back to what I had done before in the bathroom but that had just been instinctive. I put out my hand over the camera and concentrated hard, imagining the camera moving back up onto the table. Nothing happened. I concentrated harder and the camera whirled back and landed on the table. My vision was foggy and I was panting, but the phone was ringing again and my camera was on the desk. I moved it from the edge so that wouldn't happen again. _Okay.. Don't freak out yet Max._ _When I took my selfie, Mark asked me a question. If it happens again I'll know this is real._ _That girl might still be alive, maybe I can save her. I need to get to the bathroom._ I took my selfie.

"Hmm I believe Max has taken what you kids call a 'selfie' a dumb word for a beautiful photographic tradition, and Max, has a gift. However your generation was not the first to use the self portrait for 'selfie-expression...' sorry I couldn't resist... Anyway Max as you've caught our attention and clearly want to join the class perhaps you could tell us the name of the process that gave birth to the first self portraits?" Mark said, again.

This was my chance to get out. "I'm sorry, I don't feel very well, please could I be excused?" I asked timidly.

"Max! Don't think you're getting out of answering my question that easily, there's not long left, but actually, come and see me after class Max. You should know this stuff."

 _Shit, now I won't be able to save this girl, he wants to keep me after class._ I had a brainwave, what was it Victoria had answered earlier? Maybe if I gave that answer I could get out on time. I concentrated again, everything wooshed back to before I took my selfie. When everything stopped wobbling (this time it was easier) I took it again, when he asked me the question I replied, "The Daguereian process sir, created by Louis Daguerre, around 1830."

"Well, well, someone had been doing far more than just taking selfies, thank you Max." He gave me one of his big Jefferson smiles.

The lecture eventually ended, I really didn't think it was fair I had to listen to it twice. As the bell rang I skipped talking to Kate and just gave her a smile as I raced towards the door.

"I see you Max Caulfield, don't even think about trying to leave here without handing in your entry."

 _Shit. Jefferson._ I turned around and walk up to him. "I'm not sure I have a photo yet Mr Jefferson."

"Given your selfie output I would have thought you'd have thousands of pictures by now."

"It'll take a long time to find a good one." I said, wanting to find a way to end the conversation.

"Max, don't wait too long, John Lennon once said, 'life is what happens while you're busy making other plans.' Go on now, don't let me stop you."

I decided to try something. I wound back time to just before he had called me over and went up to him. "Excuse me Mr Jefferson, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yes. Excuse you." Said Victoria irritatingly.

"No Victoria, excuse us, I'd never let one of photography's future stars avoid handing in her picture." Said Jefferson with an air of being quite relieved to stop talking to Victoria.

"I'm on top of it." I told him. "I believe John Lennon once said, 'Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.'"

"Max! You're on fire today, all the right answers. Make sure you finish working on it today. I have faith in you."

I rushed out past a pissed off looking Victoria down to the girls bathroom. I wondered if I needed to retrace my steps, I decided it was best to. I washed my face, shredded my photo, and waited what felt like an eternity for the blue butterfly to follow it behind the stalls and then managed to take a picture of it again. I then heard Nathan come in, I thought about stepping out now, it might make him leave the girl's bathroom, but he seemed unstable and I could end up with a bullet in me. I stayed hidden as the punk girl came back in and they began talking and arguing again. I looked around desperately spotting the fire alarm just as I heard the gun go off again. I quickly concentrated and rewound about 30 seconds then pulled the alarm. 

The girl used the distraction to push Nathan off her, knee him in the guts, and throw him on the floor before fleeing from the bathroom. Nathan picked himself up and mumbled something about a shitty day before leaving as well. I paused, giving him time to move off before following him out. I wondered if he knew how close he had just come to murdering someone.


	2. 1.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uploading this very quickly as I already had it ready to go, it just needed a bit of editing. 
> 
> Mild spoiler if you're reading without having played:
> 
> This chapter includes the part with the steps-paint can-sprinkler puzzle. If you've played then you know it was pretty unlikely in the game but it worked as 'videogame logic'. Written down though it's a bit off, I considered omitting it but I've left it in so we'll just assume that it would actually work and isn't actually incredibly unlikely.

I left the bathroom, I was sweating and trying not to freak out over what had just happened. I had just been an 'everyday hero'. I had gone back and stopped someone from being dead. My brain couldn't quite cope with that, and the droning fire bell did not help.

I noticed the halls were empty. _Duh. Fire bell._ Everyone must have evacuated because of it. I turned to leave school and was face to face with the campus security guard.

"What are you doing in here?" He asked me.

"I had to use the bathroom, sorry."

"Girls always use that excuse..."

"Excuse for what?"

"For whatever you're up to, your face is covered in guilt." He said aggressively. 

"Thank you Mr Madsen, if you could stop interrogating the students and instead turn off the alarm seeing as that is your job, that would be most appreciated." Principal Wells had stepped out of his office into the hall. The security guard left but it wasn't over yet, the principal called me over.

"Miss Caulfield, seeing as there is clearly no emergency here perhaps you wouldn't mind telling me why you do indeed look so shaken up?" He stared down at me.

"I... Uh... Was just thinking about my future Sir, 18 is a tough age."

"Are you sure that's all you were thinking about Max? You know you can talk to me."

I hesitated. "I just saw Nathan Prescott waving a gun around in the girls room."

"That is a very serious accusation Miss Caulfield, are you sure it was Mr Prescott? He is from a very distinguished family and one of our most esteemed students."

"Yes, of course I'm sure, he was in there talking to himself and getting worked up."

"So he didn't see you?" He said with disbelief. 

"No, I was behind the stalls, I have a right to be there you know, It's the _girls_ room. I was trying to take a photo. Not a weird one. It was of a butterfly that came in."

"I know you can be there... I'm just trying to get a clear idea of what happened. I'll look into the matter, thank you for bringing it to my attention. Now, go outside with the rest of your class."

As I walked away I considered rewinding and not telling him, nothing was going to happen to Nathan Prescott, I was only making myself enemies. But I couldn't bring myself to, he should get some consequences, even if it's only a seed of doubt in Principal Wells' mind. There had to be consequences for him. He'd been about to kill that girl.

I stepped out into the beautiful grounds of Blackwell, it was October and mild. The leaves on the trees were vibrant shades of orange and brown. October is definitely my favourite month.

Mrs Grant was standing near, she is always nice to me despite how bad I am in her science class. I wandered over to her.

"Hi Mrs Grant, how are things?"

"Not good, that damned Madsen wants to put cameras all over campus, in the halls, classes, grounds, dorms... everywhere. That's not protection, that's spying. Will you sign my petition, please?"

"Sure." I said, and did so, but I couldn't help wondering if cameras would have prevented Rachel Amber's disappearance. The selfish part of me though, did not want that crazy security douche watching my every move.

I glanced around, I hadn't had any time to myself in the grounds since I arrived, and whilst I knew my way around now I still hadn't had a proper explore. I decided to explore and maybe take the chance to get to know some of my classmates seeing as Jefferson's class had been my last class of the day and I had no hurry to be elsewhere.

I wandered across the ground spotting Evan, a tall boy, with almost black hair and eyes, dressed in dark hipster clothing. He was very reserved but the rumour was that his photography was amazing. However I had also heard that he rarely lets anyone see his portfolio.

"Hi Evan."

"Hi... er... Max." He replied, not looking up from his expensive looking camera which he was fiddling with.

"So I was wondering if I could have a look at your portfolio?" I gestured at the closed book on the table.

"I don't know, let's see if you know your stuff first. Who photographed the famous 'Falling Soldier'?" He asked.

"I.. uh don't know, guess I'm not worthy of a look. Could you just tell me at least? So I know for future reference of course."

"Max you should know this, Robert Capa of course.

"Thanks Evan." I said, then I concentrated hard. I was standing next to Evan again who hadn't looked up from his camera. I asked him for a look again.

"Robert Capa, _of course_."

"My my... this child knows stuff, would you care for a perusal of my portfolio?" He waved in the direction of it and went back to his camera.

I picked up the book considering telling him how pretentious and condescending he was and then rewinding before he got mad but the rewinding was tiring so I decided not to use it for that. When I opened the book I got a bit of a shock, the first page was arty black and white photographs of Rachel Amber. I knew because they were labelled and I recognized her face from the poster I had looked at less than 10 minutes before. I had to pause then because the realization that I had used time travel to save someone's life less than 10 minutes ago had hit me again.

"Thanks Evan." I mumbled, putting the book down with trembling hands.

I walked away, my phone buzzed in my pocket, I pulled it out. 'Text from Warren.' I opened it, 

**HI MAX CAN YOU GET MY FLASH DRIVE, NEED SOME INFO + SPACE**

_Damn... where did I put his flash drive?_ Another message popped up. 

**HULLO?** _Yes Warren jeez, I'm replying._

 **SRRY RUNNING LATE INSANE DAY**. I typed back walking towards another group of students.

He replied instantly **ILL MEET YOU IN THE LOT. LOOKING COOL. YOU'LL SEE.**

I replied and told him **MY CAMERA WILL BE READY C U SOON**

 **I HOPE SO.** Is all he said back.

He knows I'm always running late. That does seem somewhat ironic now somehow. I knew I should probably hurry now but Hayden was sitting over there and this was a good opportunity to talk to someone who pretty much knows everyone here. He probably knew Rachel Amber too.

"Hey Hayden."

"There she is, the retro selfie master of Blackwell." He drawled. 

"That's me. You look relaxed Hayden." He really did, sprawled on the grass in the sun.

"It's a skill one cultivates at Blackwell, especially when one represents the Vortex Club. Not to boast." He chuckled.

"Do you really want Nathan Prescott to 'represent' anything to do with you?"

"Oh please, Nathan is like everyone's voodoo doll, 'kill the rich kid!' He's alright, and a fun guy to hang with, fuck the haters." Said Hayden brushing a hand in the air.

"I dunno, he seems genuinely unstable to me." I said as tactfully as possible

"Nate has his extreme moments, but don't we all?"

 _Not quite like that_ , I thought to myself. "Anyway, I was meaning to ask, what is the Vortex Club? It sounds quite elitist if I'm honest."

"Only if you're not cool enough to get in." He replied with a smirk.

"If you say so Hayden."

"I do, but you should actually come hang with us one night, then you wouldn't be so inclined to gossip."

"Hang with the Vortex Club? I don't know, that sounds like the set up to a horrible prank."

"Chillax paranoia girl," He waved his hand again, "We're not that desperate for fun, we know how to do that ourselves."

"I guess, thanks, but it feels weird partying with all those Rachel Amber posters up."

"Don't be silly, Rachel used to hang with us all the time. She was a blast..."

"So, you knew her too?"

"I knew she liked to party, was fun to be around.." He laughed. "Oh yeah, and she was hot."

"What do you think happened to her?" I probed.

He shrugged and looked thoughtful... "Oh, whatever happens to people who disappear without a trace."

"Random question, did Victoria like Rachel?"

"She respected her..."

"So Rachel was actually a member of the Vortex Club?" I was surprised.

"No" He laughed again, "Rachel was like her own club, she was actually too cool for us. And I'll deny I ever said that."

"Okay." I smiled. "Nice talking, I've got to go find Warren now."

"Bye Max, we should totally get you and Dana out one night."

I headed towards the dorms pondering the idea of what a night out with me, Dana, Hayden and the Vortex club would be like. _So not happening._

I needed to get Warren's flash drive and then meet him. I crossed through the other garden in front of the girl's dorms, Alyssa, a quiet girl with purple hair and her nose in a book, was sitting on a bench. Behind her two football players threw a ball backwards and forwards until one terrible aim sent the ball into the back of Alyssa's head. I moved next to her and concentrated, I could use my powers for good again.

"Alyssa duck!" The ball flew over her head and smashed through a window several feet away from her.

"Shit... thanks Max." She gave me a grateful, smile. I nodded and smiled back.

I was feeling pretty good about myself until I turned and saw Victoria and her crew sitting on the steps at the entrance to the dorms. I walked up to them.

"Oh look it's Max Caulfield, selfie ho of Blackwell." I sighed... She continued "Wait, hold that pose." She drew out her camera and snapped a photo of me standing there looking pissed off. "Move along Max, you're not going in here now, and this picture? It's going all over social media. Now, why don't you go fuck your selfie?"

Annoyed, I looked around, Samuel, the gardener, was about to climb up a ladder to do some painting above the steps where Victoria was sat. A plan began to form in my mind. I rewound, Samuel began to move backwards into his shed at the other end of the garden. As soon as I was sure he couldn't see me I leaped over to his paint cans, which were luckily out of sight of Victoria. After fiddling around and loosening the handle on the can I stood up, to see Samuel heading over towards me angrily. _Crap._ I rewound and he moved back into his shed. This time I didn't need to work out what to do and tampered with the handle much more quickly. I stepped back and looked, the hook Samuel hung his paint on was over the space in front of the steps. Even if this worked and the can fell it wouldn't hit close enough to them. I needed to move them a bit. Then I saw the sprinkler system. I rewound a little bit more to give me some more time and moved behind Samuel as he walked out of his shed. Luckily Samuel wasn't very observant and I slipped into his shed just after he left it. I quickly flipped the switch for the sprinklers. With the handle tampered with and the sprinklers on high, everything was set.

Now was time to sit back and watch. The sprinklers came on one by one and Victoria and her friends got splashed. They stood up angrily in front of the steps annoyed that the spot they were sitting in was fast becoming a puddle, Victoria was saying something about wet cashmere. _Perfect._ Samuel picked up his paint and climbed up the ladder. I crossed my fingers. He hung the paint pot and then bingo, it broke and slipped right off again landing right next to Victoria and her gang, splattering them. I had been poised to rewind if it had hit one of them but this was perfect.

I wandered back over, Victoria's 'friends' had run off to get towels. 

"Whatever." She said as I neared and she moved over to let me pass. I looked at her, this would be an ideal moment to revenge snap a picture of a wet, paint splattered, miserable Victoria. However it would also be a good chance to try to make peace, life would be easier without her as an enemy.

"Uh... Hey Victoria."

"What do you want Max?"

"I'm sorry, that was an awesome cashmere coat." I said, trying to act like cashmere was something I was familiar with.

"It was, but there will be another." She sighed.

"Well.. Um... You always seem to know how to pick out the right outfits." I said.

"I do have some talent, Mr Jefferson told me..." She smiled to herself.

"I've seen your pictures, Richard Avedon-esque, you have a great eye." Which was true.

"Thanks Max, he's one of my heroes. Now, I hope those sluts bring me a towel before they hang a sign on me." She got out her phone. "You deserve a better shot, I'll delete that picture, and sorry about the go fuck your selfie thing."

"That was mean, but actually pretty funny." _It was._

"Just one of those days you know..." She wiped paint from her face.

"Trust me I actually do, bye then Victoria."

I went up to the dorms, I liked the dorms here, the bathrooms were a bit manky but we each had our own nice big room and the atmosphere was good. Or at least it normally was. Victoria's friends rushed past me holding towels anxiously. I sighed imagining what being her friend must be like. As I walked down the corridor I heard yelling. Juliet came out of Dana's room and slammed the door, wedging the handle shut.

"You can't get out now Dana, confess, or rot in there." She screamed. I sighed, okay so maybe the dorms weren't _that_ great. I went to my room to get Warren's flash drive. It wasn't where I left it, a post it note was in its place. **'Borrowed your flash drive to watch some films whilst I study. -Dana'**

Now I needed to go to Dana's room but based on what I'd just seen that may be complicated. I walked up to Juliet.

"Hi Juliet. Everything cool?"

"Oh yes, I've barricaded Dana in her room because we're cool." She said, sounding annoyed.

"What did she do?" I asked.

"Sexted my boyfriend." 

"Ouch, how did you find out?"

"What do you care Max? We've never even spoken. I bet you don't even know my full name."

"Of course I do... Juliet... Mason?"

"That was pathetic Max _Caulfield_ , it's Juliet Watson, now just go, this isn't anything to do with you."

I rewound. "Juliet Watson of course, I may be quiet but I pay attention."

"Fair enough, sorry, I'm in a bad mood. Basically Victoria told me they had been sexting and she's always said that Dana would do anything to date a quarterback." Juliet explained.

"Victoria..." _Of course_

"Yes, why?" She asked.

"Give me a moment." I moved away thinking about what to do, clearly this was Victoria's shit stirring work, I just needed proof, then maybe I could get my flash drive back and finally go meet the forever waiting Warren. For the first time ever, I was grateful there were no locks on our doors as I slipped into Victoria's room. I went to her laptop which was on, I didn't take me long to find her chats with Zachary, Juliet's boyfriend. The emails summed everything up, they were flirting and Victoria had said she was going to frame Dana so they could get some peace. I took out my phone and photographed the messages on screen.

I took them to Juliet and showed her the screen without saying anything. Juliet unblocked the door.

"I'm an asshole, sorry Dana."

"You are." Said Dana but smiling slightly. "Do you really think I'd mess around with Zachary."

"I owe you dinner." She turned to me. "Thanks for sorting this out Max, I still can't believe Zachary and Victoria did this to me."

"Dana, can I have my flash drive back?" I asked. 

"Yeah of course." She disappeared into her room for a moment then came out and gave me the flash drive.

"I've got to go now, thanks Dana." I left.

As I neared the grounds I caught sight of Mr Madsen, the security guard, yelling at Kate who was almost in tears. I couldn't believe it and waded in and told him to stop bullying her. Perhaps not my brightest idea, Madsen was going to hate me, the look on his face had been scary, but it needed to be done. Kate thanked me and I gave her a quick hug before saying I needed to go.

I headed out through the grounds and out to the parking lot where Warren sat leaning against a rather run down looking car.

"Max! Check out my new ride!" He beckoned for me to come over.

"Hi Warren.. Uh very nice." I knew nothing about cars.

"You okay Max?"

"It's just been one strange fucking day." I told him, feeling suddenly tired and emotional.

He looked at me. "You wanna tell me about it?"

"Okay... But this stays between us, for real Warren."

"Don't insult me Max." He looked at me earnestly. "Go on?"

I was about to speak when I saw Nathan Prescott heading my way. _Shit._

"Who the fuck do you think you are making up shit about me and grassing me up?" He screamed in my face, showering me with spit in the process.

Warren stepped in and gave him a shove backwards, before I could stop either of them they were rolling around on the floor punching each other. I turned to get help and almost got run over by a truck. With my hands on the bonnet I looked into the car.

"Max?" Said the blue haired girl whose life I had saved.

"Chloe?" I said, recognizing her for the first time as the friend I hadn't seen in 5 years.

"Get in!" She yelled. So I did, with one last desperate look at the two boys rolling on the floor behind us as we left.

\---

"Man Nathan Prescott is messed up and dangerous, this day never ends..." I sighed.

"Oh and thanks Chloe! Don't give me the guilty face, at least pretend you're glad to see me." She scoffed.

"Sorry, I'm really glad to see you. It makes perfect sense I'd see you today." I looked at Chloe, it had been years since I'd seen her, she was almost unrecognizable; tattoos, blue hair, punk clothes, and 5 years had radically changed her from the 14 year old friend I'd left behind.

"Yes, it's been that kinda day, what did that freak want with you?" She glanced at me before looking back at the road.

"I don't know, I only know he's a Prescott."

"And an asshole, your friend really took some beats for you."

"Warren? Yes, I owe him big time." I said, I hoped that he was okay.

"You're not the only one in debt.." she mumbled. "And you're already causing trouble. Wow."

"I thought it would be quiet here, it's so weird to be back." I looked out of the window and the autumn scenes of Arcadia wondering what debt Chloe was in.

"So I guess Seattle sucked hard?" Said Chloe still sounding pissed off.

"I guess. It was cool but I was kind of out of my league." I wasn't sure what to say.

"I would have thought you'd fit right in with the art hipsters there."

I looked at her. "Oh please, you look like the cover of hipster girl .com." I retorted.

"Well, you're still a smartass."

"That's why I'm here."

"Oh please, you're here for Blackwell." She still looked pissed.

"Well yes and no... I'm here for Mark Jefferson, he was pretty famous in the 90s."

"Those who can't do, teach. I'm glad you found a reason to come back" She laughed a bit.

"Don't you think I'm glad to see you?" I asked.

"No. You waited five years without a call or a text." She said bluntly.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Look Chloe, I'm sorry, I know things were tough on you when I left."

"How could you know? You weren't there." She said incredulously.

"Hey I didn't order my parents to move just to fuck you over."

"Well, you've been at Blackwell for a month without letting me know, 'nuff said." She said without looking at me.

"I just wanted to settle in-" I tried to explain.

"Don't bother with the lame excuses." She cut me off.

I leaned back into the car seat feeling like a shitty person. I looked at my bag between my feet, it was filthy, Nathan had stood on it. I took out my camera, broken.

"Oh man, seriously?" I mumbled to myself.

"What?" Said Chloe keeping her eyes on the road.

"Nothing, except my camera has officially taken a shit."

"We're nearly there, my step-douche has a boatload of tools." She told me.

"I need very specific, tiny tools."

"Nerd alert, anyway he has a fully stocked garage... And he actually is a tiny tool."

I laughed, it felt a bit like the tension was broken. She pulled into her driveway. 

"The house still looks the same..." I told her. "Nice."

"Home. Shit home." She said cheerily.

I followed her in and up to the same old bedroom.

"My room probably look s a bit different to the last time you saw it." She said, flopping down onto the bed. I looked around, it was, but I liked it. A messy desk with an old laptop, papers and an ashtray was below the window. An old car seat was on the floor in front of an ancient TV. The walls were covered in whimsical graffiti done by Chloe and punk posters. It looked a bit like a junkyard but it was so clearly Chloe's one place that was hers.

"Go down to the garage, there will be tools there." She instructed.

I was surprised. "Aren't you coming?"

"No, I need some time alone to medicate... Put some music on before you go." She grabbed a joint and an ashtray off the floor next to the bed. I went over to the CD player. _No disk._

"Chloe where do you keep CDs?"

"Look around there will be one lying around." She yelled without getting up. I looked around awkwardly until I spied a box of junk that seemed like a possible candidate for a CD hiding place. I began rummaging, I found a CD, but the thing that caught my mind was a photo and a stack of papers. I recognized the papers, they were Rachel Amber's missing person posters. The photo on top of them showed Chloe standing next to Rachel. Chloe had a stripe of blue in her hair but it wasn't fully dyed like it was now, Rachel had her tongue out and they were both flipping off the camera. 

Suddenly Chloe took the photo out from in front of me. "Hey, give me that."

"Sorry, I wasn't trying to be nosy, you told me to look for a CD. Obviously she was a good friend."

"That's putting it lightly." Said Chloe defensively. 

"Her missing person posters are all over Blackwell."

"Yeah... I put them up. After my dad died and you left I felt abandoned. She was my rock."

"Man, I had no idea..." I said, feeling bad.

"You never made much of an effort to find out." 

I tried to think of what I could say to Chloe to make up for all this. "I'm glad Rachel took my place in your life, I'm really sorry I left."

"Rachel had my back, we were gonna kick the world's ass. She did more then take your place. You would laugh at how different we were though. She wanted to be a star." She smiled a little.

"She looks like a model."

"That was our plan, get the hell out of here and straight to LA." Chloe explained.

"So what happened? Did your parents, your mum, try to stop you?" I asked.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No, she was too busy hooked up with Sergeant Shithead."

"Heh, I feel the love... When did Rachel actually disappear though?" I hoped asking wouldn't upset Chloe.

"Six months ago, she just left Arcadia, without a word. Without me." Chloe's face looked dark and tense, I could sense the conversation ending but I probed a little deeper.

"Maybe she just wanted to start a new life?" I suggested.

"She would have told me, unlike you." She replied pointedly. 

"Okay, sorry. I'm just trying to work it out."

"She said she'd met someone who had changed her life and then she disappeared. Like everyone in my life, my dad, you... And now Rachel." She moved back to the bed and lit her joint again. "Now, can you put some fucking music on." She sounded like she could be hiding the fact she was very upset. 

I put the CD in, it was a home made mix, Amanda Palmer began playing. 

"I'm going to find some tools now." I told Chloe.

"Okay." She said, barely looking my way.

I went out, taking a moment to look around the house, nothing had changed. I decided to pop in the bathroom. Chloe's mum, Joyce's make up was out. I looked for Chloe's stuff. It was on a shelf, blue hair dye, a couple of black eyeliners and worryingly a bottle of fluoxetine antidepressant pills. Maybe Chloe really had struggled. I used the facilities and then left, heading downstairs. The house was empty and looked very similar to how it had when Joyce and William lived here. I tried to look for clues about Chloe's new stepdad but nothing was obvious. So I went into the garage.


	3. 1.3

As I stepped into the garage my phone buzzed in the pocket of my jeans. I had two texts, the first was from Victoria: 

**THANX BUT WERE NOT FRIENDS**

_Whatever._ The second was from Kate:

**THANKS FOR HELPING ME OUT TODAY**

I typed back: **NO PROBLEM, MADSEN IS AN ASSHOLE.**

I looked around the garage, there were piles of tools but none which looked appropriate for fixing a camera. Well, this was an excuse to rummage and see what I could find out about Chloe's stepfather then. I opened the nearest cupboard and... _What the fuck._ A TV screen showed me footage of every room in the house, no privacy was spared, no room left out. I wondered if Chloe knew about this... First impressions about the 'stepass' were not great, I thought to myself feeling creeped out and uncomfortable as I carefully closed the door again. 

A laptop sat enticingly on the sideboard, it was on but password protected. I needed to find out more about this man if I had any hope of unlocking it, I did remember reading about how easy most people's passwords are to guess. I could see some files perched on top of the cupboard and I decided to try and get them down, standing on the tips of my toes I could reach the edge of the nearest thick brown file and I pulled it towards me. Tonnes of papers came out of the file as it turned in the air spilling its contents before falling onto the oily floor where they stained and dirtied. _Shit._ Then I remembered that I had powers, it still wasn't properly instinctive to me that I could go back in time. I rewound and the papers gathered themselves as they moved back up through the air. I decided to stop snooping for now and look for the tools that I needed. I looked at the other side of the garage, a gun rack stood at the back. One of the guns was missing, which had to mean he was out there armed, I hoped he wasn't as much of a dick as Chloe made out. Then I spotted a small pack of tiny screwdrivers on a shelf to the side of the rack, _perfect_. I pocketed them. _Now, time for a little more snooping before Chloe gets suspicious._

I pulled open the nearest drawer and suddenly everything made sense. A photograph of a soldier in full gear looked up at me, the face was a few years younger but unmistakable. Madsen. Chloe's stepdad was David Madsen. _Fuck._ I rummaged further and found some possible passwords written down in the form of dates and places and names on his letters and keepsakes, I tried three, all wrong and the computer locked. I cursed but then quickly remembered I could rewind. I rewound and tried 'password' and '0000'. Nothing, maybe this guy was cleverer than that, then I thought why not and typed 'joyce'. _Bingo._ The computer opened up onto his desktop, he hadn't customized the background picture. A tab at the bottom showed that the browser was open and, as I saw, logged into his email, I found a recent email thread with Principal Wells. They were about the cameras that David wanted to put up in the school, clearly he was a paranoid spy, I'd seen enough unnerving evidence of that in his home. Luckily Wells was saying a student petition meant they wouldn't be putting them up. _Phew thank you Mrs Grant._ I rewound to before I touched the drawer and laptop so that the creep wouldn't see anything out of place.

I did a once over the garage, checking everything was how it was when I came in, minus the box of screwdrivers now in my pocket, and then walked back into Chloe's room.

"You found the tools, sweet, you can sit at my desk and fix your camera." She waved towards the messy desk. 

After about 20 minutes of trying to screw bits back together I realized my camera was beyond help. I leaned back and sighed.

"Can't fix it?"

"Nope."

"I'm sorry," she reached forwards, "Hey are these your new photos, can I look?"

"Yeah, and you can."

Chloe picked up the photo of the butterfly I took in the bathroom, I'd forgotten about that one.

"No way, I've seen this, when did you take this?"

"Uh..." I shrugged awkwardly and opened and closed my mouth in a lame attempt to think of something to say.

"You took this photo, no way, in the bathroom today... You set off that alarm! I can see the alarm button in the background of the photo, don't try to lie to me. That's why Nathan raged after you... Totally makes sense, you hella saved my life. That's the truth isn't it?" 

"Yeah... I was there... Hiding in the corner." I confessed.

"Daaamn, you're a ninja!" She was almost jumping on the spot.

"A ninja would have cut Nathan's head off, all I did was take a butterfly photo."

"Still badass." She said, composing herself.

I smiled. "Not so much you when you know I almost wet myself when I saw the gun."

"So did you recognize me?" She gave me a smile that left me unsure if she was being nice or if it was more of an evil you-better-have-recognised-me-Max-Caulfield smile.

But I decided not to lie. "Honestly no, the gun was distracting and your hair is a rather different colour now."

"Never mind." She waved her hand. "So I'm guessing you overheard our conversation."

"Just a bit..."

"There's no way you didn't hear every single vowel." She gave me a look.

"Well I heard about money and drugs and shit, I don't know, what have you gotten yourself into?" I asked, I hadn't really had a chance to process that I'd heard most of that stuff until now, and at the time of hearing it I hadn't realized the girl was Chloe, the seriousness of the conversation between her and Nathan was starting to hit me now.

"Never mind that," she said impatiently, "did you tell anyone?"

"Yes of course Chloe, Nathan had a gun." I was sure I had done the right thing but I was sure Chloe wouldn't agree and would probably think I had acted like a small child.

"Shit! Who?"

I flinched a little knowing she wasn't going to like this, "Principal Wells."

"What are you 12? Jesus Max." She pressed her thumb and forefinger into her forehead and took a deep breath.

"Look I didn't mention you, and I saved you." I reminded her.

"I know, I'm sorry Max." Her demeanor softened. "I'll tell you more at some point." She grabbed an old instant camera off of the shelf behind her and handed it to me. "It was your birthday last week, this was my dad's but I never use it, he'd love you to have it."

"Chloe I can't take your dad's camera." Equal parts shocked at the gesture and the sudden change this conversation had taken.

"Of course you can, and I'll snag this butterfly photo as a memento, okay?" She said picking it up off the desk.

"Of course it's okay, if you're sure, this camera is amazing."

Chloe smiled, then switched on some punk music. "Now that we have that mushy shit out of the way, I feel like stage diving." She leaped onto her bed and stood on it dancing and smoking her joint.

"You're crazy." I said and laughed. I took out my new camera and tested it by taking her picture, the light from her window filtered in through her smoke and cast a beautiful shadow on her blue hair.

"Yep, now what's the problem? Can't dance?" She challenged.

I started to get into it, probably making a fool of myself but letting the music and smell of smoke wash over me. Until we heard a loud bang of a door slamming.

"Shit." Said Chloe, frantically batting away smoke and throwing the window wide open. "Turn the music off. Now!" I scrambled to the controls and switched it off.

A man's voice called up, I recognized it as David Madsen's. "Chloe are you up there? How many times have I told you not to blast that punk shit?"

"Dude the music's not even on, I'm getting changed, don't come in." Shouted back Chloe.

"I'm coming up we need to talk." He yelled.

"Fuck, Max hide." She flapped her arms at the window trying to get more smoke out. I ran and hid in her wardrobe watching through the wooden slats. David walked in the room.

"What are you up to Chloe?" He said loudly. Everything he ever said was loud and barked like a military officer giving an order.

"Nothing. God, you're such a paranoid ass." I could see her trying to look calm.

"One of my guns is missing. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"

"Don't be stupid, don't you know I believe in gun control?" Chloe sat down on the bed as David wandered across her room, spotting the ashtray on her desk. He picked up the remains of Chloe's joint and turned towards her, his face dark.

"Is that grass? Have you been smoking in here again?" He shouted, his mustache twitching. 

"Oh yeah, guns, weed... You're tripping David." Chloe said, putting on a false air of relaxedness. 

"Tell me the truth and that's an order!" He stepped towards her raising a hand. The picture of him armed, in army gear flashed through my mind. I burst out of the wardrobe.

"I'm sorry, that was my joint." I said timidly.

"So you're bringing drugs into my home. How about if I call the police? That would screw up your spotless Blackwell record. You do seem to get around.. _Max_." He said my name like he wasn't sure it was real and eyed me with suspicion. "I'm sick of you losers dragging Chloe down. Missy, you sure do like to pop up and start trouble. Like this afternoon. You don't have anything smart to say now? Do you? Huh?" He stepped towards me.

"Dude, stop harassing my friends!" Said Chloe, stepping between us.

"Max, if I see you here again I'll show you the meaning of trouble." He left. Chloe stuck both fingers up at his back as he closed the door.

"Thanks for taking the heat." She said to me. "I'm sorry about him. Let's go, I know one cool place we can go in this hickhole." She began to climb out of the window so I followed, too shaken up to question it.

\---

Chloe's car pulled up in the woods. _I haven't been here in years, so why do I feel like I had just been here?_ A path led up the hill and Chloe began to race up.

"C'mon slowpoke!" She called down. I looked around, and something caught my eye. A rustling in the bushes, I saw a flash of brown and a doe's face. _No way,_ I realised I was back where my vision had been. _Was that the same doe?_ I looked around, there was no sign of a storm, it was sunny and the light filtered through the brown and orange leaves casting a rich yellow light and a warmth on my face. I shook my head, this was weird. As I began to follow Chloe up the path I had already been on once that day at a time that felt like a million years ago, my phone buzzed again. I looked at it, Warren had texted me a selfie. He was smiling with thumbs up, but his lip was split and his eye was a nasty shade of purple. I texted back:

**I OWE U BIG TIME. THANKS FOR TODAY.**

His reply came instantly as usual. **NO PROBS REMEMBER YOU STILL HAVE 2 TELL ME UR BIG SECRET.**

_I suppose I did owe him that._ **I KNOW, LOOK AFTER YOURSELF, C U LATER WARREN AND THX AGAIN.**

I put my phone away and wandered up the hill to join Chloe who was sitting at the foot off the lighthouse. Now the light was still attached to the lighthouse in its proper position and the sea was calm.

"Do you want to be alone?" I asked because Chloe looked distant.

"No, have a seat." She said and gestured.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, I love seeing the stepass get played." She smiled.

"He really is a stepass."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry you had to see it so first hand. No one should have to put up with his crap." 

"I'm sorry you have to live with him..." I couldn't imagine the stuff Chloe must've dealt with over the last few years.

"Ever since my mum dragged him to my house..." She sighed.

"He was freaking out on poor Kate Marsh today."

"I know her, she wouldn't hurt a fly, only an absolute prick would bother her." She said angrily.

"He has some kind of weird agenda." I said.

"Rambo still thinks he's gathering intelligence." Chloe explained with a smirk. "He has a bunch of secret files in the house. Did you take a peek?"

"Well... Not really, just like a glance when I was looking for tools."

"I bet he has some serious porn in there." She started to laugh.

"Ew!" I screwed my face up at the thought and snorted with laughter. 

"Well, good thing you didn't, he has a serious surveillance fetish. I worry there are spy cams in the house or something batshit like that." She said after she'd calmed down from the giggles.

I looked at her. "Shit Chloe, I knew you didn't know. Your house is under surveillance."

She turned to me. "What are you talking about?"

"There's a monitor in the garage, it shows everything."

"I knew it! He's so hella fucking paranoid. I better keep this to myself for now." She leaned back and rubbed her eyes. "Everyone in this town knows everyone's fucking secrets." She muttered.

"So what's Nathan's secret?" I said trying to change the subject.

"Nothing... He's just an elite asshole who sells bad shit cut with laxative. And..." She trailed off and I gave her arm a squeeze of encouragement. "He dosed me with something in his room." She finished.

"What?" I hadn't been ready for that.

"I met him in some shithole bar that didn't card me, he was wasted and rich, throwing money left right and centre." She explained.

"Chloe tell me more about what happened."

"I was dumb, I thought he was so pissed it would be an easy score." She sighed.

"You needed money that bad?" I asked, not understanding.

"Actually yes, I owe big time." She said and I remembered her throwaway comment earlier.

"Shit Chloe, how much?"

"Three grand plus interest. And before I could get a chunk of that from Nathan... He put something in my drink..."

"God Chloe..." I didn't know what to say.

"I was passed out on the floor and the perv was smiling crawling towards me with a camera, it was some weird fucking shit." She shuddered.

"What did that freak do to you?" I asked, hoping that I'd be able to handle the answer.

"I don't know, everything was a blur, I tried to kick him in the balls and broke a lamp... He freaked and I legged it out of the door."

I tried to piece it together "Fuck... So what where you doing after that?"

"I figured I'd make him pay for my silence. So we met in the bathroom..."

"And he bought a gun. Chloe he's dangerous."

"Well good think you notified the principal, I feel safer already." She rolled her eyes.

"Look I won't always be there to save you. I can't stop bullets."

She looked at me. "You were there today Max, I'm still tripping on that. Seeing you after all these years feels like..."

"Destiny?" I suggested.

She stood up and wandered to the edge of the cliff, I followed.

"If this is destiny I hope we can find Rachel, I miss her." She looked down at Arcadia Bay. "This shitpit has taken away everyone I've ever cared about. I want to drop a bomb on this dump."

_Suddenly a pain explodes in my forehead like when I had concentrated really hard to unbreak my camera, I place my hands over my eyes and step back stumbling and falling. The ground I land on is wet and I sink a couple of centimetres into mud. No... Not again... I look over in the direction of the sea and see the tornado again. No this can't be happening! Is Chloe still at the top of the hill? I have to know, I begin walking up again not knowing how I even got to the bottom. The doe is here again leading the way, I tried to get a proper look but the animal is ghostly, just popping in and out of sight almost completely obscured by the rain. As I push my way up I hear a loud cracking noise and a tree begins to plummet towards me. I concentrate and just manage to get it together to rewind and rush past before the tree to falls._

_When I reach the top there is no sign of Chloe. A sodden newspaper is caught on a rock and I grab it and look at the just about legible front page. October 11th? That's this Friday! Then the newspaper flies out of my hands and everything goes black._

"Max? Max, what's going on? You totally blacked out."

I opened my eyes and blinked in the sunlight. Chloe was crouched over me.

"Chloe, I didn't black out, I had a vision, Arcadia Bay is going to be wiped out by a tornado." I said as earnestly as possible.

"You're tripping, Oregon gets about one tornado every 20 years. Look, it's sunny." Sh gestured at the fine weather all around us.

"No, Chloe, I could actually feel the electricity in the air, I was cold, and wet and muddy-"

"Calm down and breathe, there's no tornado."

I sat up. "I have to tell you something... Hardcore. But I'm not crazy okay?"

"Talk to me." She sat down next to me.

"I had the same vision earlier in class, when I came out of it I discovered I could reverse time. Like I said: Not crazy."

"But high right?" She looked at me weirdly.

"Listen, how do you think I saved you in the bathroom?" I asked. Wondering if this was a bad idea.

"By reversing time, yeah right."

"I saw you get shot Chloe... I saw you die." I blinked away a tear as I realized how close It had been. "I went back and hit the fire alarm."

"Look Max, people don't have these powers, this isn't anime or a videogame."

"I don't know what I have, but I have it and I'm scared shitless." I could feel my voice shaking as I realised Chloe didn't believe me.

"You need to get high... If you're not already."

I shook my head feeling something cold on my cheek. I looked up. 

"Snowflakes?" I said.

"It's boiling... How?" She sounded alarmed and confused.

I stood up... "Climate change maybe. Or... a storm is coming."

"Max," She grabbed my shoulders, "Start from the beginning, tell me everything."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't think there's much I need to say about this part, please let me know if you're enjoying this. Thank you all for reading.


	4. 1.Epilogue

As Max wiped the first cold snowflakes from her face, David stood in his backyard atop a ladder, adjusting a security camera in order to cover a blind spot he'd noticed in a corner of the garden. He noticed a snowflake land on the lens in front of him and turned around, staring slightly open mouthed at the rapidly increasing snowfall.

Across town, the Two Whales Diner was quiet as a woman stood behind the counter wiping it down. She paused mid-wipe and stared out of the window at the falling snow.

At Blackwell academy, in the science lab, Warren was tinkering with his computer. He left it on the table and rushed to the window when he realised it was snowing outside, wondering how he could have been unaware that there had been a predicted snowfall.

In her bedroom, Kate had her back to her window, which had the curtains drawn. She sobbed quietly, piles of clutter and dirty laundry littered either side of her, she did not notice what was going on outside.

A large brown dog stood next to a filthy RV barking in the snow as it began to fall, until a man with blond hair, a goatee, and neck tattoos who was holding a large bong threw open the door and scratched his head. Together they stood in the doorway of the RV and watched the snow.

In front of the Blackwell entrance hall Victoria wandered, feeling agitated. All around her she faced Rachel Amber posters. She ripped one from the noticeboard and looked at it, before rolling her eyes and throwing it onto the ground, she looked briefly into the eyes of the photo on the floor and then felt something cold on the back of her neck. She looked up and saw that it was snowing.

Sitting in his large wood paneled office, principal Wells sat in his desk chair and took a long sip from a glass tumbler of brown liquid as he too watched the snow through the window.

Sitting in his classroom, studying an array of dark black and white photos, Mark Jefferson noticed a change in the light and looked up from his work and at the snow falling outside the window.

On a bench in front of the main campus, sitting outside, Nathan looked at a camera he held in his hands. He didn't react outwardly to the snow, seemingly ignoring the strange occurrence.

Elsewhere, on a shelf, protected from the snow outside, sat a row of neatly labeled red binders. On the final binder furthest to the left, it's proprietor had written the name 'Rachel'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a very short part to end episode 1 in a similar style to the original game, although it's hard to do justice to how visual these epilogues are. They are one of my favourite parts of the game though, so I hope this will suffice. Episode 2 is in the works and will be here soon. As usual, please send me any feedback and let me know if you are enjoying this, it means a lot.


	5. 2.1

My alarm was going off, I lazily reached out and fumbled for the snooze button, tapping the table a few times until I managed to hit it. I needed to shower, I hated showering at Blackwell because the showers were communal and not very private, but it was a necessary evil. 

I dragged myself into a sitting position and turned on the light. Blinking in the brightness I got up and looked around my room, it was a nice room and I had it to myself, so by school standards, it was not bad. I had my stereo set to play when my alarm goes off, I turned it off and looked at the papers and books strewn across my desk. All the physics research I'd done last night and I was no closer to understanding my mysterious power. Which was hardly surprising given how I'd never excelled at physics and anything vaguely relating to time or time-travel was leaps and bounds ahead of my understanding. It had been a frustrating and confusing evening, but I still felt the need to find answers.

I stopped and watered the plant my mother had left me, she was constantly texting me to check I had watered it and I looked forward to being able to tell her I actually remembered for once. Then I grabbed my shower stuff and was about to head out when my phone chimed. It was Chloe telling me to meet her for breakfast at the Two Whales Diner where her mom worked. I texted back saying I needed to shower first. _She would just have to wait._

I walked into the shower room, Kate was in the bathroom brushing her teeth. She looked sad and her eyes were puffy like she had been crying and not sleeping.

"Hey Kate?" I said softly.

"Oh, hi Max, thanks for standing up for me yesterday." She said, after spitting out her toothpaste.

"No problem, Madsen is an asshole."

"Yeah..." She paused. "Could I have back that book I lent you? I have an assignment and I need it."

"Of course Kate, I'll bring it by your room later."

I stepped into one of the showers and began showering. Until I heard people coming in and I stepped forward out from under the water and peered through a crack between the shower curtain and the cubicle wall.

"Hey Kate, what's up?" Said a voice I recognized as Victoria's.

"Nothing... Just school," mumbled back Kate suddenly very focused on washing her hands.

"That video of you clubbing didn't look like school." I heard laughter and pulled the curtain aside a fraction further to see Taylor was with Victoria.

"That wasn't me." Said Kate, almost in tears.

"Yeah sure it wasn't." Smirked Victoria. "Anyway, I think it's cool you set a tongue record on video." More laughter. I heard the door open and close as Kate ran out of the bathroom.

"Oh boo hoo, sorry you're a viral slut!" Said Victoria to the closed door.

"I'm sure she had fun." Chimed in Taylor.

"Looks like it, I know Nathan hooked her up, and you know he has the good shit." Victoria said, stepping up to the basin.

"Preach."

I carried on peering out carefully from behind the curtain. Victoria was staring into the mirror. She rubbed her face.

"I still have fucking paint all over my face." She moaned. "Good thing my faithful minions took their sweet time to get me a towel."

"We ran all the way-"

"Give it a rest Taylor." She interrupted. "Next time I won't rely on you guys. You can go hang with Kate... Or Max."

"She's a weirdo with that dumb camera." Added Taylor trying to join in on the side of the mocking rather than the being mocked.

"I hate that _'I'm so quirky'_ crap that she has going on. Anyway let's leave a link to Kate's video." Victoria took out a lipstick and scrawled the URL on the mirror. They finally left.

I came out of the shower and promptly grabbed a handful of tissues and wiped the link off. Even if it stops one person from watching it then it's worth it.

I walked back to my room and got a shock, my wall of photos, the one above my bed that had been in my everyday hero picture, had big red letters graffitied over it. "NOBODY MESSES WITH ME BITCH." _No way._ This is not what I came to Blackwell for, some of my pictures were ruined and I was going to have to ask Samuel to repaint. I thought back to Hayden's casual defense of Nathan being a fun, cool guy, and looked at the blood coloured letters on my wall. _Yeah right._

I changed out of my pyjamas into my regular jeans, t shirt, and grey hoodie, then I began trying to remember where I'd put Kate's book. I spotted it under some papers but when I went to grab it I knocked over a glass of juice all over the papers and book. _Crap_. Kate was stressed enough, and she needed the book, I was absolutely dreading having to tell her already crestfallen face that I ruined it. I looked around desperately and then remembered yesterday. I concentrated and rewound, massaging my forehead from the effort of the first rewind of the day, I then moved the glass and grabbed Kate's book.

I headed down the corridor to Kate's room, I knocked and she called for me to come in. I stepped in, blinking in the gloom. Kate was sat at her desk facing away from me. I looked around the room, a few weeks ago I had seen this room and it had been immaculate, now dirty clothes were strewn on the floor, the curtains were drawn, the mirror was covered and I noticed letters on the sofa. I didn't want to pry but I grabbed them and scanned them anyway. Kate noticed and turned towards me angrily. I rewound to before I had touched them, their content now in my memory without me having looked at them. I walked over to Kate.

"Uh, hey Kate, I brought you your book."

"Max, why did you step in between me and David Madsen yesterday?" She asked.

"I hate bullies."

"Thanks for caring." She mumbled.

"Kate you're my friend, of course I care. What's the story with you and David anyway?" I asked.

She fiddled with the cross around her neck. "He's a paranoid ass, he thinks I'm part of the Vortex club or something."

"Why on earth would he think that? You run the bible club for god's sake."

"It's that video of course..." She sniffed.

"I haven't watched it, what happened?" I asked.

"Basically I went to one Vortex club party and ended up making out with a bunch of people and I have no memory of it." She said, and her bottom lip trembled.

"That really doesn't sound like you." _It didn't._

"It's not me!"

"Kate, I know, but you have to tell me more than that... Did you drink?" I asked as tactfully as possible.

"No, I swear I had one sip of something and then I drank water." She said looking me in the eye and imploring me to believe her.

"Well that's not enough to get wasted." I said, thinking out loud.

"I don't get wasted. Ever." She shook her head. "I have a sip of red wine at church and I don't end up on a viral video."

I hesitated, "Kate do you think someone could have y'know... Put something in that sip you had?"

"I remember getting sick and dizzy..." She said hesitantly.

"Shit. Go on..." I encouraged.

"Then Nathan Prescott was there, he said he would take me to hospital." She said slowly, as though just remembering.

Everything started to make more sense. "Nathan! Fuck..."

"He was actually being nice for a change when he offered to help me."

"Nathan is the opposite of nice. What happened at the hospital?" I asked.

"All I can recall is driving for a long time, and then everything seemed white and sterile and I thought we were at the hospital. Someone was talking and then I felt a sharp sting in my neck." She told me.

"And?" 

"That's all I remember Max." She sniffed again. "I woke up outside my dorm room the next morning, I didn't have any marks or bruises but I felt gross."

"Crap... So who took the video?" I said, trying to connect the last few dots.

"I don't know, probably Victoria, she was there being her usual mean self." Kate said.

"Jesus Kate, I'm sorry, this is serious shit."

She turned to me looking desperate. "Max, how do I get a viral video taken down? I know it's spreading... What if my church sees it?"

"We'll figure it out later Kate, I'll help." I told her, but knowing full well we couldn't get every copy of a viral video taken down. We'd have to figure something else out.

She looked slightly more hopeful. "Thanks Max, can you put my book by my bag?"

I nodded and went over to her bag which was by the pile of letters I had eyed earlier, giving me a chance at another discrete look. It seemed her mother, grandmother, and bible class had completely disowned her for the video. I spotted a postcard with a short message from her dad telling her he cared about her. At least she had someone.

"So Max, can I ask you a question? And please be honest." She asked making me jump a little as I read the end of her dad's postcard..

"Of course Kate." I said quickly.

"Do you think I should go to the police?" 

I froze momentarily. There was no proof of anything, the Prescotts would be bad enemies and the police wouldn't do anything. On the other hand, that's not what Kate needed to hear.

"Absolutely Kate, Nathan deserves that." I told her.

"Thanks Max, with you supporting my statement down at the station about the Prescotts we'll be fine." She said. _Wait, now I'm supporting her statement?_

"Okay Kate, well I've got to go and meet a friend, we'll talk soon."

"Bye Max." She said seeming a little happier than before we spoke.

I turned and left worrying about what would happen to me next if I helped Kate go to the police. My wall was proof enough Nathan would do what he wanted.

\---

I wandered down the corridor and my phone chimed again. It was Chloe.

**MAX. FOOD. 2 WHALES DINER. CU THERE.**

I texted back **YAY BREAKFAST!(^-^)**

She replied **NO EMOJI**

Which I ignored as I left the school and went into the grounds. 

Samuel was sitting on a bench, the birds were flocking around him. I decided to go and speak to him as I felt bad for getting him yelled at by Victoria over the paint incident. He was a little odd, but a very sweet man who loved his job. I wished I'd done something differently yesterday.

"Hi Samuel."

"Oh... Hi Max."

I decided to ask about the snow yesterday. "What did you make of that weird snowfall yesterday?"

He shook his head. "Samuel has never seen anything like that..." He mumbled. "I think it's mother nature telling is to get our shit together."

I changed the subject. "The animals seem to love you Samuel." 

"Yes... I feed them."

"I love that there's so much wildlife in Arcadia. This may sound weird but I actually have seen a doe a couple of times that seemed to be the same one staring right at me."

"Nothing weird there Max, you saw your spirit animal. Everybody has one." He said matter of factly.

"Maybe Samuel. Talk again soon okay."

"Bye Max." Samuel said, smiling.

I started to leave the grounds and my phone went off again. It was a withheld number. I read the text message:

**THIS IS NATHAN'S FATHER. THIS IS A MESSAGE TO LET YOU KNOW THAT ATTEMPTS AT SLANDER AND BLACKMAIL TOWARDS MY SON WILL BE MET WITH MANY LAWYERS AND LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS. YOU ARE NOT THE FIRST BLACKWELL STUDENT TO TRY THIS. I HOPE YOU'RE THE LAST.**

**CONSIDER THIS A FINAL POLITE WARNING.**

_Great, now Kate was going to drag me into going after him again, just what I need,_ I decided to ignore the problem for now. I continued on but Warren called me over before I could slip out to the bus stop.

"Hi Warren, what's up?" I asked, looking his bruised face feeling a bit guilty.

"Nothing... Uh just waiting for a call I mean I already took the call." He laughed nervously. "Anyway I just wanted to rap about that action yesterday."

"Yes, thank you for stepping in yesterday, you were pretty badass. I owe you." 

"Yes you do, I got knocked about by that dick." He touched under his eye gingerly.

"Well I guess you're an everyday hero for standing up to a bully. It was awesome."

"Even though you left me with said bully and ran off with that girl." He sounded a little resentful. "She's pretty punk rock, how do you know her?"

"Just and old friend."

He nodded. "Bet you were glad to see her blast up in her truck like that and rescue you. Which begs the question, why was Nathan going psycho on you?"

"I busted him with a gun in the bathroom yesterday. I'll give you the full story later. Hopefully principal Wells is dealing with it." I told him, I figured he deserved to know that much.

"Weird fucking week so far. Like that bizzaro snowfall yesterday. Speaking of distopia, the drive-in is having a planet of the apes marathon. Let's 'go ape!'"

"No thank you Warren, I don't think I can concentrate on going to the movies, I just have a lot on my mind, plus isn't the drive through 60 miles away?."

"Fine, be a damned dirty human, I'll 'Go Ape' myself" He huffed.

I felt bad about Warren as I left the dorm gardens, heading around to the front of the school. David and Nathan were talking, that could not mean anything good... But I didn't investigate because I needed to catch the school bus that had just arrived. I got on and put my headphones on relaxing and looking at the golden colours of Arcadia Bay in autumn as the bus began to trundle its way into town. 

\---

As I got off the bus Chloe texted that she was running late, I clearly needn't have worried about keeping her waiting. I walked into the diner, it hadn't changed a bit in the last 5 years and neither had Joyce who was still behind the counter. The booth me and Chloe always used to sit at was free and I sat myself down.

Joyce spotted me and came over. "And there she is, lovely young Max, how are you doing?"

"Hi Joyce, it's nice to see you again, you look the same."

"Like I'm still a waitress at the Two Whales after all this time?" She laughed.

"No, like you still look pretty."

"Nice save, kid. You're still smart... But not that smart now you got busted for smoking pot." I fidgeted. She continued. "I heard the whole sordid story from David last night, I'm sorry that's how you had to meet him. He's a good man, no matter what Chloe says..."

"Yeah I'm sure he is, I don't even smoke... Like, ever. It was almost an accident, very stupid... I'm sorry." I said, a bit incoherently, unsure of how to explain something I hadn't done and wouldn't do to my friend's mom whom I hadn't seen in 5 years.

She smiled. "It surprised me fierce, I was hoping you could be a good influence on Chloe."

"I will be I promise. I know things were bad for you and Chloe, I feel bad I didn't call much. Now all my folks are in Seattle and I'm alone here, it's my karma..."

She looked sympathetic. "You did the right thing, you moved on with your life. So did I, after William passed. But Chloe... Chloe chose to stay angry..." She looked a little distant for a moment. "Anyway I hope we see more of you, Chloe needs an old friend."

I looked Joyce in the eye. "I'm so sorry about William, I have great memories of him."

"I'm glad Max, that was his gift to us... Great memories. Even if Chloe doesn't understand yet."

"I think Chloe understands, she just needs... time, I know that sucks for you."

"Oh she hit all the phases." Joyce half smiled. "Expulsion, running away, drugs, bad boys, tattoos, piercings, blue hair... Now she's gotta rebel against her stepfather."

"I see why... I mean..." I said perhaps unwisely and my voice trailed off.

"Do you? He's not that much of a hardass as he seems. But you did tell him you had a joint didn't you? You took responsibility?"

"I did. And I'm sorry. I don't want Chloe or me in more trouble." I said earnestly.

"Nobody's in trouble over a doobie Max, and I admire that you took the heat for Chloe..." She said giving me a knowing look. "Like a great friend. But Chloe does push David and it's not fair, he already paid his dues in a war. He really does care about her, as does he with all the students at Blackwell."

"He cares about Kate Marsh?" I asked perhaps slightly sarcastically. 

"David mentioned her... But I stay out of his business. I won't patrol Blackwell and he won't cook at the diner. Y'know?"

"Don't worry, it's just I saw him arguing with Kate and I thought you might know why..."

"Nice try Nancy Drew, but next to you there's only one student I care about, and she's not even in school anymore. Anyway, let's get down to the nitty gritty, what do you want to eat?"

"I haven't had a good waffle in 5 years..."

"Coming right up Max. Drink your coffee before it's cold."

I sat sipping my coffee and looking around the old style diner whilst I waited. Soon I saw Joyce heading my way with a very large waffle completely covered in chocolate and strawberries. It looked amazing.

"I can hear your stomach rumbling from here." Said Joyce putting the plate down in front of me.

"Thanks Joyce."

"I still can't believe what a woman you are, I still look at old pictures of you and Chloe-" She stopped, Chloe walked into the diner. "Speak of the devil..."

Chloe walked over smirking a bit. "Mom and Max together again." She said.

"And Chloe looking for a free meal, you've put your whole damn college fund on your tab." Said Joyce sternly to Chloe.

I interjected, "I'm treating Chloe to breakfast."

"Are you atoning for yesterday?" Joyce asked me.

"Oh god Mom, please don't give Max any shit for that, she apologized."

"I know she did, she's a grown up now, 18. I still can't believe it." Said Joyce as though I was her own child who had grown up, and not just one of Chloe's friend's who she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Exactly, too old to get lectures from you or Sargent Pepper." Snapped back Chloe.

"Call him David if you don't want to be lectured, you only get one damn slice of bacon today." She walked away and Chloe sat down.

Chloe waited until she was out of earshot and then leaned across the table towards me. "So, Max, let's talk about your superpower."


	6. 2.2

I looked at Chloe who was looking at me expectantly. "I don't know," I said. "I can just suddenly do this, and I don't know how it works, and I don't know how best to prove it to you. And I still don't know what that crazy fucking tornado thing was."

"C'mon that was just a daydream, I want proof you can rewind time!" Said Chloe looking visibly excited.

I thought about it and figured out something I could do. "I can tell you everything that is in your pockets." I told her.

"You have x-ray vision? Dude I don't even know what's in my pockets." Chloe marveled. 

"You have to show me first, then I'll go back to before you showed me, you won't know you showed me."

She looked a bit confused and disbelieving as she tried to wrap her head around it but got her things out of her pockets and lay them on the table. I studied them, once I was convinced I could remember what there was, I rewound. "Okay Chloe, this is me telling you what's in your pockets." I explained.

"Okay, go on."

"I'll just list them... Okay, you have 7 cigarettes, your keys which have a cute robot panda keychain on them by the way, some money-"

"How much money?" Chloe interrupted. 

"86 cents."

"Yup, clearly I'm rich as fuck. What else?" She asked, clearly intrigued now.

"A parking ticket."

"Lucky guess, I'm Chloe... I have a car... It was inevitable. Prove you've seen it. What time was I nicked?"

I oaused for thought, "10:34am." I told her and leaned back smugly as Chloe got her things out of her pockets. Her mouth dropped open slightly. 

"Holy shit, I just got chills." She said marveling again. 

"Chloe get that crap off the table." Joyce said, putting down a plate as Chloe grabbed her things. "How's the food Max?" She asked turning to me.

"Better than I remembered."

"Nice save again kiddo." She left.

Chloe fell upon her food but then paused to talk. "You need to show me one last thing, something way cooler, show me something else? Please?" She said through a mouthful of bacon and eggs.

"Okay..." I pondered what... "I will predict the future." I said to her dramatically.

"No way!" She said, skewering a sausage with her fork.

"Yup, for now just eat though." She nodded complacently and ate whilst I studied the diner watching what happened.

I rewound. "Chloe, this is me telling you the next few things that will happen over the next minute or so."

"Okay... wow" She said, turning in her seat to survey the diner.

"The trucker drops his mug and Joyce rips him a new one because he keeps breaking them, the cop gets an emergency call on his radio and his partner leaves without him so he gets pissed, Justin and Trevor start fighting in that booth behind us and Joyce breaks it up, oh and the jukebox somehow goes crazy as a cockroach crawls on it." I listed off to her one by one, trying to remember if I'd covered everything I'd just seen.

She put her knife and fork down, focusing her attention on the trucker sitting at the counter. "I can't wait to see this Max."

I leaned back and watched Chloe watching the trucker drop his mug. Her jaw dropped a little. She composed herself until she saw the cop cursing his partner who had left without him. She turned towards me about to speak but I pointed out Justin and Trevor. They began having a heated argument and just on time Joyce intervened. Chloe turned towards the jukebox just in time to see the cockroach appear and hear the sound distort.

Chloe stared at me and then leaned across the table to me. "I pledge allegiance to Max and the power for which she stands." She said only half jokingly. 

"This isn't a toy Chloe, I have to be careful how I use it." I said cautiously. 

"Of course it's a toy Max, and it's the best toy ever! You can bang anyone, no strings attached, you just rewind and boom it never happened." She slapped the table to emphasize the point of her 'boom'.

"Grow up." I rolled my eyes.

"Hey maybe you even made a move on me." She said in a joke seductive voice, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Yes Chloe, of course." My voice dripped with sarcasm. 

"Whatever, we have to put this to the test properly." She declared decisively. 

"I don't have time-" I started to protest.

"You did not just say that." She laughed.

I laughed too but felt something weird on my face, my nose was bleeding.

"Too much blow?" Asked Chloe laughing awkwardly and looking concerned.

"Too much rewinding... This is the influence you have on me."

"Well let's go to my lair, you're gonna need a sidekick."

"Okay, lead the way." I began following Chloe and waving goodbye to Joyce behind the counter as my phone rang.

\--- 

I looked at my phone, it was Kate, I could see Chloe was in a hurry to leave and avoid another clash with Joyce but I had to answer.

"Chloe, wait, it's Kate from Blackwell, I have to answer."

"Oh c'mon, you haven't seen me in 5 years, you see her everyday at school, let's just go. Now." She said petulantly. 

I ignored her and answered. Kate was stressing a lot about the video, I did my best to calm her but told her we probably shouldn't get into this right now. I noticed Chloe was getting another earful from Joyce and felt bad so I told Kate I had to go. "I'll talk to you later okay? Try and do something, get your homework out of the way, keep it off your mind. Bye..." I hoped I'd helped calm her a little and that it had been worth Chloe's mild discomfort.

I hung up and Chloe turned to me, "Thanks Max, if you'd rather hang with this Kate girl say so."

"Don't be silly." I retorted, "I'm hanging with you."

"Then let's roll." She said, still sounding a bit annoyed.

We got into Chloe's run down old truck, it was battered, rusty, and covered in Chloe's graffiti and stickers, it suited her. After a while she pulled up and got out of the car walking fast.

"Is this a race?" I called after her.

"Keep up!" She yelled back.

"Seriously how many times this week are you going to get pissed at me"? I asked.

She had stopped, I looked around, we were in a junk yard. She turned to me, "That depends on you, and how well you do in this phase of the test... Welcome to my home away from hell." She threw her arms up and gestured around at the piles of rusty metal.

"It suits you..."

She began looking through her pockets, and then she pulled out a gun. I took a big step back.

I was shocked. "Chloe! Is everyone in Arcadia armed now?" I hissed.

"Well, until now only the ones who shouldn't be, like step dildo. I've put that right." She looked around, "We need to test your power."

"Fine, but again? And how?" I asked, still feeling uncomfortable. 

"I have an idea, grab me 5 bottles from in that hut over there, me and Rachel should have left plenty lying around."

"Yes Sir..." I said, giving a mock salute. 

"Don't take that tone, I have something else to set up." She said, a hint of her earlier annoyance slipping back into her voice.

I nodded, deciding it best to do what she wanted and that I owed her that much, and so I walked over to the hut but before I went in, something caught my eye. I walked around the hut and saw the doe again. This was the first time I had seen it in good lighting and the doe was definitely the same translucent animal I had seen by the tornado. The doe was still and I decided to take a picture. I lined up the shot as the light shone through her ghostly body. The picture was perfect. But when I looked at the developing photo, the doe wasn't in it. I felt strangely unsurprised at this development with all the weirdness that had gone on so far.

I turned and went into the hut, it had clearly been Chloe and Rachel's hang out. More whimsical graffiti, posters from various rock gigs, scavenged furniture, and empty pizza boxes and beer bottles littered the small space, items such as make up and a set of two braided bracelets hinted that someone other than Chloe had hung out there. I grabbed 5 of the bottles and took them out again to Chloe, wondering what Rachel had been like, she seemed very different to Chloe. Chloe had set up a sort of shelf with some bricks and planks. She was sipping out of a bottle like one of the ones I was carrying. She took the last mouthful and put it down on the shelf as she turned towards me. 

"Put them down on here." She gestured, and I lined them up. "You're going to help me shoot every single one of these bottles without wasting a bullet."

"How?" I asked, failing to see how my powers extended to this.

"You tell me where to aim." She lined up a shot, "Where Max? If I miss you go back and tell me what to do differently."

"Um... You're right on target, shoot."

She fired the shot and hit the bottle, maybe this would be easy and I wouldn't need any powers. Chloe cheered and then lined up her next shot.

"You tell me where to aim. Where Max?" She asked, not knowing this was still her first attempt.

"You're on target." I said.

"Okay, here goes." The bullet hit a pile of scrap behind her makeshift shelf with a loud clang. I rewound to when she had asked me where to aim before she could express any disappointment over the missed shot.

"Okay, try a couple of centimeters lower." I told her.

"Okay, here goes." She said again, and fired, this time her shot was on the right height but the same thing happened because she shot too far to the left. I realised her first shot had been a fluke and I could end up spending a year of my time rewinding the same few seconds trying to verbally assist her with her aim. I needed to suggest something else. 

I looked around, "What about some trick shots Chloe?" I asked

"Oh my god, yes, can you figure out some trick shots for the rest of these?" She said enthusiastically. I wasn't sure how to go about creating her trick shots, I wanted to find things she could shoot that would ultimately destroy the bottles.

"That metal post over there?" I suggested, thinking it might break and fall onto the bottles, or the bullet might bounce off and hit one. She turned and lined up the shot carefully before squeezing the trigger. Then she collapsed as the bullet ricocheted of the post and hit her in the chest. _Shit. I need to act fast, seeing her get shot again is too much_. I rewound. "Chloe! Don't shoot!"

"Okay... You just told me to..." She lowered the gun. "So where should I shoot?"

I looked around again, I had no idea. "Okay... how about that tyre?" I pointed at the front left tyre of a car sitting on top of the pile of scrap behind her shelf.

She shot the tyre and the car it was attached to dislodged and rolled forwards, crushing the wooden shelf Chloe had built, shattering the remaining bottles.

"Fuck yes Max, you knew that would be a cool shot. That's awesome." She said, rushing over to verify they had all been smashed.

"Actually I didn't, that was luck that it was cool on the first time." I said truthfully. Feeling a bit shaken up after seeing her get shot again.

She grabbed my wrist. "Well whatever, this is the best thing ever, come on let's look around this place properly. I want to show you around."

I followed her as she walked away from the smashed car dragging me after her.


	7. 2.3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's a little bit short, I'll be back with more soon. Thank you to all my readers, your feedback is greatly appreciated.

I walked away from Chloe, further into the junkyard, my mind replaying both instances I'd seen Chloe get shot. _The blood. The sound she'd made._ Chloe caught up with me and grabbed my shoulders jumping excitedly. "My best friend is a superhero!" She squealed. I snapped out of it.

I stumbled and felt a pain in my forehead, I put my hands to my face, my nose was bleeding again.

"Max your nose..." I faintly heard Chloe say.

"I don't feel so super at the moment." I think I said, but it sounded like someone else.

For a split second I wasn't in the junkyard and Chloe had disappeared. _Thunder and lighting comes at me from every direction and I can see the lighthouse through the trees against a grey and formidable sky._ Then I was back in the golden October sunlight leaning against Chloe.

"Max! you freaked me out there, too much action?" She looked at me worried.

"I don't know, but this gun stuff is fun, scary and stupid, but quite fun." I tried to act upbeat and normal.

"Well it's your turn to lock and load now Max." She said. Giving me a look that said, 'I dare you.'

I shook my head "I don't know about this."

"Scared Max?" She laughed a bit, "Don't worry I'll be right here to guide you." She handed me the gun.

The sound of rubble shifting made us both turn and I shoved the gun behind my back, a tough looking man with tattoos, dirty clothes, a blond goatee and a strange smile on his face was coming towards us. He stopped in front of us.

"Hey it's Thelma and Louise." He said in a tone that wasn't friendly.

"Excuse us Frank." Said Chloe.

"Oh don't let me get in the way of your little bonding session. I heard breaking glass and gunshots, it's cute that you're playing with guns, just like me at your age." He smirked.

"We're not anything alike dude." Said Chloe calmly.

"Well there is one thing we have in common isn't there? We both need money, in fact you need it so bad that you owe me a shitload." He smiled at her, but again, not in a friendly way.

"You'll get your money Frank." I could feel Chloe tense at my side.

"Don't they all say that, even when they're broke and acting tough-" He paused and turned to me. "What's that you're hiding there girly?" He pointed towards the hand behind my back.

Chloe grabbed Frank's extended arm. "That's Rachel's bracelet! Why the fuck have you got her bracelet?" She demanded.

"Calm yourself alright." He shook his arm free and composed himself, running a hand through his tangled blond hair. "It was a gift."

"No it wasn't, you stole it!" Said Chloe with utmost certainty.

Frank pulled out a knife, it was dirty and looked old but still like it was very sharp. "You better step back before you regret it girl. I mean it, do you want me to have to cut you, bitch?" He said spitting at Chloe as he said the final word.

I did what I had to, I pulled the gun out from behind my back and pointed it at Frank. "P-Please step back." I cursed my stutter.

Frank laughed. "You're kidding, put that down." He stepped towards me still pointing the knife. 

I squeezed the trigger and clenched my eyes shut. Blocking all thoughts of what I'd seen when Chloe got shot from my mind. Nothing happened. I opened my eyes, Frank was laughing.

"Oh man that's hilarious... I'll remember you kid. I'll remember you almost shot me. And you will wish I had no memory because I never forget shit." He turned to Chloe. "You have until Friday to pay me. Don't ever pull crap like this again- it will be the last time that you do." Then he turned back to me. "Try bullets next time. Brainiacs."

Frank left, I was standing speechless when Chloe grabbed me. "You were awesome, come on let's go for a walk, my secret place doesn't feel so secret today."

I followed her, my head still spinning after what had just happened.

We were walking along the train tracks behind the junkyard, balancing on each side of them and holding hands to stay balanced when she stopped. "I can't believe you pulled a gun on Frank, that was awesome..."

"No it wasn't, I'm so glad there were no bullets in there." I told her, I still felt shaky after our encounter with Frank.

"Max you can rewind time! You could have stuck the damn thing right up his ass and then rewound." She said with a snort.

"That's gross." But I giggled.

"I'm just glad you were there." Said Chloe more seriously.

"Well me too, but... Chloe, why are you hanging around scary losers like Frank?" I asked, because I couldn't understand.

She let go of my hand and sat down. "Sit down and I'll talk." I sat. "Feels like a different world," she continued. "I wish we could stay forever."

"Can we build another pirate fort and keep the world out?" I asked, with a smile.

She smiled back. "Well we do need somewhere where Frank wouldn't find us. But anyway, are you okay Max?"

"I'm a little freaked out..." I admitted.

"I'm sorry, but don't worry, Frank isn't as hardcore as he makes out. All he cares about is his cash, his stash, and his ugly dog." She explained.

"Chloe for fuck's sake did you not just see what happened. I know I can rewind but Jesus I nearly shot him. This isn't a game, no more guns." I said, feeling proud of myself for putting my foot down.

"Max I know, I'm sorry, crazy shit is the new normal for me. That's why I planned to get the hell out of here without paying Frank back..." Chloe continued.

"Well tell me what's going on between you and Frank. Does he have a last name?" I asked.

She continued her explanation, "Frank Bowers. He's just a dealer who I get my weed from. The stuff in 'your' joint remember? Anyway Frank and I kinda hung out before."

"Hung out... You don't mean you...?" I let my voice trail off... Trying not to picture what had sprung to mind.

"Had sex? Ew no gross. I just made the mistake of borrowing money so me and Rachel could get the fuck out of here." She said quickly.

"That's it?" I asked, relieved. 

"No, I want to know how the fucker got Rachel's bracelet." She said, sounding angry.

"Well we'll have to keep an eye on him carefully without him knowing." I wondered how we would do that.

"It's so weird talking to you after so long, I wish Rachel was here to meet you." Chloe said, looking sad.

"Do you think we would have been friends?" I asked.

"You were quite alike, she was very artsy and got on with everyone, I'm sure we would have been a perfect group." She said, giving me a faint smile.

"We will be one day I'm sure." I stood up to take a picture of the rail tracks. As I stood up, pain exploded in my forehead again. 

_The wind whips around my damp body as lighting strikes a tree close by_. _Now I hear faint screaming. "Max!.." I look for the source. "I'm stuck, help!" I run looking for the person who is calling, but I trip and hit the floor_.

However it wasn't the muddy forest floor when I opened my eyes, I was lying on the tracks, and Chloe was screaming. I got up, the tracks were vibrating, Chloe was tugging her foot which was in between two parts of the rail. 

"Max I'm stuck!" She called, scared. The train appeared in the distance and I felt a jolt of panic.


	8. 2.4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next couple of parts get a bit more mature themed, perhaps a little more graphic, and I'm pretty new to Archive of Our Own, I have this set up as a 'teens and up' rated story with no warnings, if anyone thinks a higher rating is more appropriate, or that any of the warnings apply, then feel free to let me know. Especially if you're familiar with this story, but if you're going to comment down below about which parts warrant a 'mature' rating or a warning, please use a spoiler warning, in case anyone is reading this without having played or watched the game. Thank you!

I looked around desperately and spotted a switching lever that looked like it would release Chloe's foot and divert the train. I ran to it and tugged. Nothing happened, it was locked in its position. There was fuse box a few meters further on and I rushed to it, one of these wires was possibly to do with the mechanism locking the lever, but I had nothing to start cutting them with, nor did I know which one to cut anyway, and maybe I could rewind over and over and keep messing with the wires uselessly and nothing would work. I had visions of me rewinding a hundred times and then passing out from exhaustion with a nosebleed. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of those thoughts. I had to try them anyway. I could hear the train getting louder and louder as it got closer. _Think Max, Think._

The other side of the tracks had piles of old construction materials and a cabin, perhaps left there from when the tracks had been put down. _Maybe I could use something?_ Nothing caught my eye at first outside of the shed among the piles of bricks and moldy wood so I ran to the door and shoved as hard as I could. _Locked. Fuck, now what?_ I turned back to the stuff outside the shed and I spotted something that may help, a toolbox and other metal equipment. It was all a pile of rust at this stage but I hoped to find something salvageable as I threw myself onto my knees by the pile and began rummaging, I felt a hint of relief when I pulled out a large metal crowbar from the pile. The rough, rusty metal bit into my hands but it seemed solid enough. It got the door open after I threw all my weight and strength into it but as soon as I got into the shed I heard Chloe let out a bloodcurdling scream. I didn't dare look, I rewound as much as I could without my head feeling like it was going to explode. And then I was standing in the same spot still clutching the crowbar, only now the train sounded slightly further away. 

I spotted more toolboxes on the dusty workbench inside, it didn't take long to find something that looked like it would cut wires. I pocketed it before using the crowbar again to open the door that was now locked again, it opened more easily as I wasn't working against the door frame this time.

As I ran back out and across the vibrating tracks to the fuse box and stared at the wires, I knew I was going to need to rewind more times before I could possibly cut the right one. I told myself I'd keep a lookout and rewind before I had to see Chloe get her foot run over again and again.

Cutting the first wire prompted a spark but no helpful results. I rewound to before it was cut and a little extra to give us more time. I tried a few more wires, some that I wasn't sure what they did, others that tripped out some of the lighting around the fuse box. None of them were right and my head was pounding from rewinding. I grabbed another wire and snipped it. A loud clunk came from the lever. I rushed to it, seeing the train close again, and pushed it. It moved stiffly, but crucially, it moved. The tracks diverted, moving into the position they'd been in when we sat down.

"Chloe go now!" I screamed.

She leaped forward as her foot got free and the train roared by seconds later. I crossed the tracks to her.

"Are you okay?"

"Well I am now, I can't believe you saved me again." She leaned forwards and gave me a hug which awkwardly neither of us pulled away from for slightly too long, we both needed it.

When we broke apart we started walking back towards the junkyard and the car, Chloe limping slightly at first but slowly regaining feeling in her squashed foot. "Aren't you glad I took you somewhere quiet?" Asked Chloe, a smile playing at the corner of her mouth.

"Well... It was nice to see your spot. However I actually have class now, I need to get back." I told her.

"Seeing as you're super Max, I'll be your faithful chauffeur and companion then." She said, sounding upbeat again. I supposed it was easier for her as she never saw her foot get sliced off by a train.

I looked down, "My powers might not last."

"Who knows... But we will." She said smiling at me.

\---

I was sitting in Chloe's scruffy truck outside school, I thanked Chloe for the ride. She stopped me as I was leaving.

"Listen that snow yesterday, and the tornado vision... That has to be connected with your rewind power."

I was confused. "In what way? Snow equals a giant twister that takes out Arcadia Bay? You're high."

"Wake up Max." She looked at me slightly like I was stupid. "You saved my life twice now, you've altered the course of destiny, mine, yours... Do you not know chaos theory?"

"Doesn't that just mean shit happens?"

"It means crazy shit happens, because it can, and will." She explained.

I shook my head, "Why me, I'm just a geek in a small town."

"A perfect example of 'strange attractors.' Don't they teach you kids anything at Blackwell? We have a tornado, rewind power and freak snow... Hello Armageddon! So let's party with your power!" 

"Well like you said, I need a sidekick." We both laughed.

"I don't know how something so exciting could happen on such a shitty week." She said.

"Fuck knows, but this is really exciting. I have to go to class pretty soon though..."

I went into school, just my luck the first person who saw me and immediately called me over was Principal Wells. 

"Max!" He sternly called me over. "We need to discuss your allegations about the supposed incident with Mr Prescott."

"It's not an allegation, don't say it like that. He had a gun." I tried not to let emotion slip into my voice. "Have you spoken to him yet Sir?" I asked as calmly as possible, already knowing where this was going.

The principal shifted, "Yes, and he's deeply upset about this accusation, and I don't blame him. We can talk more when I have all the facts. For now, focus on your school work."

"I can't focus when I'm scared." I said stiffly, feeling a quiet rage bubble up inside as the image of Chloe getting shot played in front of my eyes.

He glanced awkwardly around, I saw his eyes land on several of the missing person posters for Rachel Amber. He looked down at me, "Please don't say that. There is nothing to be scared of at Blackwell Academy, our head of security is overseeing a new era of campus security." He sounded like he was reading straight from the brochure I had received when I got my scholarship. 

"But Sir I saw Mr Madsen hassling Kate Marsh yesterday-"

"Hold on, do you see a pattern here?" He said, interrupting me.

"Yes, but probably not the same one you do Sir." I said, not feeling particularly intimidated by principal Wells anymore after everything I'd seen in the last two days.

His eyes darted back at his office door, probably regretting stepping out in the first place. "Well Miss Caulfield it is very easy for you to instantly accuse people of doing terrible things, Nathan, Mr Madsen... Whomever may be next, but if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting."

Across the lobby Courtney was sitting behind a table covered with posters advertising the 'End Of The World Party' and the Vortex Club. She was putting people on the guest list for the VIP area, I thought about heading over but I didn't actually want to go to a Vortex club party or be verbally abused by Courtney. I decided it was probably time to be getting to Mr Jefferson's class. Unfortunately David Madsen was standing by the door leading off the lobby and into the corridor where most of the classrooms were, including the one I needed to get to. And he had other ideas.

"Max, can we talk?" I turned to face him. "I know things got a bit heated yesterday in Chloe's room. I know what it might have looked..." His voice trailed off. "Was that really yours?" He asked.

"Yes it was, it's almost legal in Oregon. I mean, I can even get it here at Blackwell. Are you gonna bust me now Mr Madsen?" I asked. Still feeling brave.

His mustache twitched and he crossed his arms. "Even I'm not that much of an asshole and I am sorry about yesterday. I was wrong, but upset. Cannabis may not be a big deal to you, but it has been to Chloe."

"You're a combat veteran. She's no threat to you. You had no right to react that way." I told him firmly.

"If I didn't care about her, I wouldn't care at all, when I was her age, I was out raising a lot more hell, she's better than that. All you kids are. So is Kate Marsh, I don't know what you think you saw yesterday..."

I decided to remain calm. "What about Kate?"

"I didn't mean anything, just, you know about that video going around."

I decided now I could step things up a bit. "Is that why you hassled her yesterday?" 

His voice raised. "Soldier, you don't have the facts. You stepped between us at a pretty bad time?"

"But Kate hasn't done anything wrong!" I said angrily.

"This is about more than Kate, my responsibility is the safety of all you students." He told me.

I paused, "That will take more than surveillance cameras."

"It will take more than Mrs Grant and her petition to find missing students!" He retorted, raising his voice further slightly. "And when students like you go around signing things like that you enable her putting you all in more danger."

"Isn't that your responsibility as head of security? Unless you know something about Rachel."

He sighed. "I don't want to fight with you anymore. I don't want to fight with anyone anymore. That's all Max. Go to class." He said, dismissing me.

I walked away from him. I could see Jefferson stood outside his classroom at the end of the corridor but I still had a bit of time. So I checked my phone which had been buzzing away while talking to David. 

**HEY GUURL** It was from Warren, with a picture of a cat in goggles pretending to do a science experiment. Another text came in: **I'M IN THE LAB.**

I replied: **SEE YOU IN A MIN.**

Warren was a bit persistent, but I felt bad for rejecting his cinema invite, and that he got beaten up for me. So I went into the lab. Warren was in there as he had said, and his face still looked pretty bad. The swelling had gone down since the initial beating but the bruises had spread across his left eye and cheek in a shocking mixture of purple, red, and green. He was overjoyed to see me though. _He always is._ He was working on a science experiment that his class had been set, I didn't know what it was, and he didn't know whether or not to put potassium or sodium in the mix.

"Asking me means you're screwed!" 

He laughed. I could see Mrs Grant sitting at her desk at the front of the lab. She probably wouldn't tell the students she'd set the assignment to what the answer was, she probably wouldn't tell me after watching me come in and talk to Warren. However, maybe if I never spoke to Warren... I rewound and approached the front of the room, acting like I was reading and understanding Mrs Grant's advanced chemistry lesson's assignment on the board.

"Hi Mrs Grant, can I ask a random dumb question?"

"Max! I was just thinking about you, thank you for your help with signing the petition, every signature counts. And you know my teacher answer- there is no such thing as a dumb question." She said warmly.

"Would you add potassium, or sodium, to a chemical mix for this week's experiment assignment?" I said thoughtfully, as though I understood the experiment.

"Neither, unless you want a face full of powder, I would add chlorine." She said giving me a slightly odd look.

"Thank you Mrs Grant, I'm glad the petition worked."

I went up to Warren who was so focused he hadn't seen me talking to Mrs Grant, and had the exact same conversation I had had before, right up to when he asked me what to put in his mix. I was getting used to repeating large sections of conversations with people, it was strange and sometimes boring. Like playing the same few minutes of a game over and over. Except in games you have ways to skip these things, I had to listen to all of Warren's jokes again.

"I have to add either a bit of potassium or sodium. It's up to you to decide, Doctor Max." He said, again.

"Asking me means you're screwed!" I hesitated, I knew I should tell him to add chlorine, and Warren had done a lot for me, but at the same time with my powers nothing really felt like it had major consequences anyway, and I couldn't resist, "I actually think you should use a lot of potassium, I mean a shitload."

"See, look at that smile. You're going to become a scientist yet." The hint of condescension in his voice made me not regret my decision. "Let's go!" he said, pouring in the potassium while I made sure to take a big step back.

A large white cloud of powder blew up around Warren, tilting him back in his stool alarmingly. He batted it away looking puzzled as he grabbed the table with the other hand to steady himself. He blinked at me through the residual dust.

"She blinded me with science." He said completely straight-faced. 

I decided I couldn't win, nothing that I did stopped his devotion. I rewound and told Warren to put chlorine in, he was thrilled when he managed to make a cloud of pretty pink gas. I took a picture of him holding the pink swirling beaker up next to the pink and purple bruising on his face, it looked quite cool.

I left Warren as now my class really was going to start and exited through the door at the other end of the lab, opposite Mr Jefferson's classroom. Outside which he was still standing, this time talking to Kate. I couldn't help but overhear.

"So you can't help me?" Kate sounded on the verge of tears.

"I'm trying, but you have to understand my position." I could hear Jefferson lowering his voice as he glanced back into his own classroom. Neither of them were looking at the doorway of the lab just across the hall.

A tear spilled onto Kate's cheek. "Why? You don't understand mine. Nobody does... Nobody." 

She walked away, quickly, I stepped out, meaning to catch her attention but she walked straight past me with a hand over her face. I followed. Until she snapped at me, or maybe Jefferson, perhaps both of us, to leave her alone. Jefferson was still standing outside his classroom, almost everyone else had filtered inside by now but he'd just seen me chase Kate down the hall.

"Excuse me Max, can you come over here?" He asked me.

"Sure."

"You look worried, is everything okay?" He questioned.

"Sorry to bother you Mr Jefferson." I knew his class should have started by now.

"I'm only bothered when you avoid turning in photos, but you know this, what can I do for you Max?" He asked.

I realized the principal was not the person I should have been turning to. "Just between you and me, I'm worried about Kate Marsh." I confessed.

"You're not the only one, do you have something you want to tell me?"

I paused, if principal Wells was informed of what I was about to say I could get in trouble for making more accusations. But I had to help Kate. "I saw David Madsen harassing Kate yesterday, he was scaring her."

Jefferson shifted, "Mr Madsen sometimes confuses fear with security. I'm sorry Kate had to be the target of his paranoia. If you had proof I could talk to principal Wells."

"Oh, well, I didn't take a photo because I was distracted by the fact Kate seemed distressed and I wanted to help." I regretted not thinking more smartly.

"I know, it's no secret that you, Kate, and David Madsen got into a confrontation in front of school yesterday." I looked around awkwardly as he continued. "And Max, I promise this issue is being discussed by the faculty. I assume you know about this viral video..."

"Yes, Kate is freaked out by all of this. She can hardly do homework when she's being tormented on a daily basis." I said, wondering if I could get the teachers to back off.

"What if Kate brought this on herself?" _What?_ "She means well but maybe she doth protest too much. She seems like she's holding back the truth. Have you talked to her?" I didn't like what he was saying one bit, but Mark Jefferson was almost confiding in me? He seemed that he wanted to know my view. 

"Yes, I spoke to her on the phone today, she needs friends and support now." That was the truth and sidestepped his strange implication "I just don't want Kate to become the next Rachel Amber." 

He seemed taken aback. "Rachel Amber, what does she have to do with Kate?" 

"With all her 'missing persons' posters around, it's hard not to think of her. I think something terrible might have happened to her. Or she might have had to run away. I don't want Kate feeling like she needs to escape from Blackwell" 

"I miss Rachel too. But think about yourself, Max. Principal Wells told me what you said happened in the bathroom." He said, looking down at me over his glasses.

"It did happen, Nathan Prescott had a gun in the girl's bathroom yesterday." I said defensively.

"This is a serious accusation, Max." He had slipped into the lecturing teacher voice he had used yesterday when I didn't know about daguerreotypes. I no longer felt like he was confiding in me. 

"So you don't believe me? I would never make something like this up."

"I hope that's the case Max, but it's easy to point fingers. If Mr Madsen claims you might be a pot dealer, as he did, should I believe him?" He said, looking a little bit more jokey now.

"Listen, should I-"

He cut me off, "Excuse me, Max" He took a buzzing phone out from an inside pocket and answered it. Stepping aside so I could go into class and wait for him with the others. He put his hand over the mic and called out to me and I walked past. "I have to take this, go in and I'll be with you guys soon."

I finally got into the classroom, with all the rewinds, which were tiring as well as adding time, it felt like days since Chloe had dropped me at school. Alyssa was staring out of the window, it had started to rain. I took her picture, I hoped she wouldn't mind. Most of the class were busy entertaining themselves as Jefferson had been taking his time with me and then the phone call. Victoria and Nathan were sat side by side on my desk. Victoria did indeed have a new cashmere sweater on. They both doled out some unimaginative rude comments as I asked to sit down. Victoria stood up.

"Oh please do." She smiled. "Take a selfie of this moment."

Nathan stood, stepping up close to my face. "Yeah Max, so I won't forget you."

 _Assholes._ I sat down and placed my usual things on the desk and stared out of the window at the rain. I took out my journal from my bag and placed the photo of Alyssa inside with all my other recent photos and began to update it. I got distracted when out of the corner of my eye I saw Kate run through the garden outside, hugging her cardigan across her body against the wind, her head down. Then David appeared a few paces behind, stopping behind some trees and taking pictures of her on a large digital camera. _What the fuck. Why is he taking photos of a student. That's wrong and weird._

I looked back into the room and saw Warren walk in, he came and sat on the edge of my desk. 

"I saw Kate earlier, her eyes were red from crying." He told me.

"Kate has a lot on her plate..."

"I didn't know what to say, and she didn't tell me anything." He looked down at his feet. Mr Jefferson walked in behind him.

Jefferson smiled. "Okay I know you love me but if you're not in this class, beat it. Everybody else please sit down. We have a lot to cover today and we're a little short on time." I put my journal away. He continued. "I see we have all the usual suspects here. Has anybody seen Kate Marsh?"

Victoria interjected, "I think everybody has seen Kate Marsh by now." Laughter erupted from the usual suspects around the classroom.

"Sounds like you're giggling about a video gone viral. Maybe it involves a student, or a friend. I wonder how it would feel to have false images of yourself shot out all over the world for people to judge. Usually people need something to judge so they never take a good look at themselves. We can thank reality TV for some of that. In the end, we can only blame ourselves for participating." He paused to let his words sink in. "Anyway I'm sure you've all read the syllabus like it was a Harry Potter book, and know today we're studying 'chiaroscuro' that beautiful word about the contrast between light and dark-"

I relaxed; I had rewound a lot today, ran into Victoria far more times than is recommended for one's health, worried about Kate, saved Chloe... again, seen Joyce again, and seemingly been confronted by absolutely everyone. I was ready to sit back and listen to Mark Jefferson talk about photography.

"-the shadowplay that gives photography such visual power. It's basic yin and yang. Black and white images are effective precisely because of their contrasts. Although we don't technically 'see' in monochrome."

I wasn't really listening to the lecture, but I was enjoying drifting sleepily in and out. When a student burst into the classroom cutting off Mr Jefferson.

"Yo! Some crazy shit is going down at the girls' dorm!" He shouted. 


	9. 2.5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some readers may find the content of the following chapter upsetting.

Mr Jefferson turned to the student, Zach, who had just burst in. "Zachary do not come into my class like that ever again!"

But no one was really hearing him over the sound of chairs scrapping back and people hastily grabbing their bags.

"Everybody remain seated!" Mr Jefferson called to us as we left the room and ran down the corridor, joining more students, who ran through the lobby and into the grounds, all going towards the garden in front of the girl's dormitory.

Everybody who had got there was stood still in the rain looking at the roof. As I approached I could overhear some of my classmates talk.

Courtney had turned to Victoria who had her phone pointed at the roof. "I didn't think she was this messed up Victoria."

"Is this for real?" Dana asked Juliet who looked frozen.

I caught up the last few steps at a jog and saw what they were looking at. Kate on the roof. _Kate! No! Oh god, I have to do something to help her._ But then, as if in slow motion, I saw her step off of the roof and fall. It was the fastest I've ever used my powers, it felt like an explosion in my head, as though I was using the power of my mind to push Kate and everything else back to where they were a few minutes ago. It had never felt this hard. She was back on the roof when I stopped and I could feel blood running from my nose. I wiped it with the back of my hand. I can't let her die. Kate jumped again. I managed to go back again and get her on the roof. I didn't know how long I could keep going for. When she jumped again I managed to rewind, the pain in my head scared me and made me double over. I wiped more blood off of my face and tried to stand up. _I don't think I can do this again._ When Kate jumped again I knew I had to try, still doubled over, with one hand bracing myself on my knee, I raised the other hand. Hoping I could go back further than usual and give myself time to get to the roof. As she started to move back and finally made it to the roof, I felt a jolt and a surreal stillness came over everything.

It took me a moment to understand what I was seeing. Raindrops hovered in the air in front of me, the flash from Victoria's phone camera held steady, and a bird hung suspended in midair. Kate stood on the roof immobile. I tentatively stood up straight, moving felt strange, but the pain in my head had receded. I wiped away the rest of the blood on my face as I moved. It felt like I was walking through water and I used my hands to brush suspended raindrops out of the way as I pushed through to outside the dorm door that Victoria had blocked me from yesterday, moving as fast as I could. David was stuck in an action pose outside the door, running towards it. He was too late. He was standing where Kate was about to land. The door pulled open with slightly more resistance than usual and I began climbing flights of stairs.

I pushed open the roof door. I didn't know how to unfreeze things, I tried to raise my hand as though rewinding. Things jolted back again and suddenly wind and rain were hitting me once more. Kate was across the roof from me, inches from the edge. I stepped forward and raised my hand to rewind and felt a shock go through my body and pain in my head. Nothing happened and I gasped out loud. Kate turned and looked at me.

"What are you doing here Max?"

I tried to rewind again. Again a shock went through me and more pain, but nothing happened. I wondered if I'd ever rewind again. Kate saw my outstretched arm as a sign I was trying to grab her and shouted at me: "Stop! Don't come near me!"

_Not now... It won't work... I don't have any power, I have to do this by myself._

Kate had her arms up defensively and stood very close to the edge. "Max, seriously don't come near me. I will jump." She said to me through tears but with an underlying coolness that suggested she meant it, and I had seen that she did.

"Okay, I'll stay right here. I'm here Kate, please..." I didn't know what to do.

"Oh Max, I know you want to help me, and I love that you stepped up to David, but it doesn't matter now, nothing matters." Her voice was shaking now.

"You matter, and not just to me." I resisted the urge to step towards her.

Kate looked down, "I do want to believe that."

"Kate your life is still yours, and we can get through this together. Let me help." Kate looked like she might be considering her options.

"I'm glad to hear you worry about me..." She sniffed. "That makes me feel better."

"Of course I worry, you're my friend Kate."

She finally looked me in the eye. "I did feel better talking to you on the phone, I always feel like you really listen."

Again I decided not to move, but I had to get her away from the edge. "Kate, please trust me. Come and stand by me, okay? I can help you now, I know I can. Like this morning I erased the link to the video on the shower room mirror, we can fight this."

"Thank you so much Max, the fact that you don't care about that video and would come up here to stop me means a lot." But she didn't move.

I tried to sound as convincing as possible. "I care about you because I believe you were drugged. We will find out who did this and make them pay."

"You sound so persuasive Max... If only..."

"Kate I believe you, will you believe me? Please you don't have to do this." I said desperately.

"Max I am in a nightmare and I can't wake up, unless I put myself to sleep. Then everybody at Blackwell can post pictures of my body; I'm already on the internet forever. No wonder they call it a 'web' nothing ever gets out again, like my video... I wish I could go back in time and erase everything." She said to me through tears.

"Kate this is our chance to beat the bullies." I took a deep breath. "This is the way we can win against them, thanks to you I believe that, thanks to you I believe in miracles."

"You're a good person Max, even if you're full of crap. I do half want to come with you."

I tried not to jump for joy or scare her off. "Can we hug on it?"

She hesitated and wobbled on the edge. "No... No one cares."

"Kate, I'm sorry I was nosy, but you need to hear this now. I saw the letter from your dad, you can count on him, he clearly loves you without question." Kate nodded so I carried on. "You're not alone, and nobody down there wants this, this isn't the end, there is no way God doesn't have big plans for you."

"God put me on this roof." She said coldly.

I thought desperately. A phrase I'd seen written on Kate's belongings and her wall came to mind. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Kate stepped forward, "Matthew 11:28... I can't believe you quoted one of my favourite passages."

"I care about you. I know that passage means a lot to you." I reached for her hand, feeling immense relief as I gripped her cold fingers in mine.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Repeated Kate as she let me pull her to safety.

I held her away from the edge as the rain continued to pour onto us.

\---

"Now, I know today was difficult for everybody, but I'm so proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl's life. Of course, you're quite a hero for getting Kate to come down, Max." Said Principal Wells. 

He stood behind his large desk looking at me, Nathan, Mr Jefferson, and David Madsen on the other side.

"I didn't do much..." I wanted them all to stop looking at me, I had no idea how to explain any part of what I'd done, not just the freezing time part.

Jefferson stepped towards the desk, "She's modest, like a real hero."

"Yeah. A real hero." Said David in a tone that wasn't giving anything away but I was sure I detected a slight eye roll as he said it.

Principal Wells raised a hand to shush them, and spoke. "As principal of Blackwell Academy, I take my duties seriously. I take the well being of every student more seriously. What happened today should never happen in a hall of wisdom and knowledge. Mr. Madsen, as our head of security here, those roof doors should always be locked. That's just standard operating procedure. They were not and that is indeed your responsibility. Mr. Jefferson, I know you can't be expected to know what your students are going through, but Kate has assisted you in class, and I'm lead to believe she's spoken with you, so you should've known something was amiss. And Mr. Prescott, since you are responsible for the Vortex Club parties, and since Miss Marsh did attend your last party, you'll have to answer some more questions. Finally, Miss Caulfield, why exactly were you on the roof with Kate Marsh? Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all? Please, tell us everything."

I looked around the room at Nathan, David, and Jefferson. David had been picking on Kate, and I wasn't sure I was comfortable with the interaction I'd seen between Jefferson and Kate. But this all came down to one thing that had started everything, Nathan and the video.

"All I know is that Kate was at a party and Nathan dosed her. She got wasted and kissed some people on a viral video without a clue." I said. The Principal's eyes widened.

Nathan leaped up. "I dosed her? Without a clue? Have you seen the video? Whatever. Kate was loaded and playing the field-"

I raised my voice. "You're a liar. You told Kate you took her to the emergency room!" 

"I said I was going to take Kate to the ER, but she sobered up eventually so there was no need."

"Bullshit!" I couldn't believe what he was trying to say. "Something happened to her, and you know it. How about we talk about you waving a gun in the girl's bathroom-"

Nathan interrupted. "Hey, that's total slander! I could sue you and this school so fast! I have a personal lawyer." His voice was starting to sound stressy and frantic.

Principal Wells raised his hand again and looked at Nathan, "Careful, Mr Prescott. I have been told of this alleged gun incident. And I have to admit that the video in question was sent to me by multiple sources."

"Including me." Said David stiffly who was standing to attention behind us, having refused to take a seat.

Wells continued, "And since Mr Prescott does appear prominently in the video and was responsible for the party, I have no choice but to suspend him until further notice."

Nathan looked furious and stood up again, tipping his chair back. "Whatever. See you in court." He spat.

Jefferson spoke for the first time in a while, "Excuse me, I think Max and Nathan need a break before we grill them further. A friend and fellow student just tried to kill herself... They don't need this forum right now."

"Oh yes, I'm kinda devastated right now. I'd like to be with my family." Said Nathan flatly.

Principal wells sat down at his desk and pushed a sheet of paper towards me across it. "Alright then Miss Caulfield, please sign here to confirm what you've told us. I'll continue this investigation from there."

 _My head is killing me, but maybe I could rewind now. Was blaming Nathan the right move?_ I paused but realised everyone was waiting for me to sign, so I signed it, I couldn't think of anything better to say than what I had. 

Wells wiped his forehead with his hand. "Alright." he sighed, "I think we know less now than when we started. We'll be assisting the police with further inquiries. I know this has been a stressful day. I wish I had the power to change it all for the better... Thank you all for coming in."

Later, as the sun was setting, I sat with Warren on the steps in front of campus.

"Max, that was the greatest thing I've ever seen! Ever! You reached out, she reached out, hugs, tears, applause... You were like a superhero!" He enthused. 

I shook my head, "I dunno Warren, I'm a mess."

"No! Look at you, you're glowing. Seriously. A human halo... I'm pretty sure you earned your wings today." He continued.

"I'm still worried about Kate, she tried to kill herself over a viral video." I said, wondering if Warren could pick up on how un-super and not-glowy I felt.

Warren looked a little more serious. "Viral is the right word." He said, "They spread like disease."

"Did you watch it?" I asked him.

He looked uncomfortable. "Just like one-and-a-bit times to see what all the fuss was about."

"Warren, I don't mean to sound weird but there's something ominous going on at Blackwell. And I'm working on proof that Kate Marsh is connected to Rachel Amber... Somehow. And that Nathan and Mr Madsen are involved." I told him, and to his credit he didn't tell me I was mad. 

The sky suddenly turned dark, and I watched as the setting sun in front of us was eclipsed rapidly. 

Warren turned to me looking unnerved in the darkness. "Max, there was no eclipse scheduled today, I would know..." He said disbelievingly, "I would know..."

I shivered at the sudden coolness. Warren put an arm around me. I remembered shivering the night before walking home as my clothes became wet in the freak snow. "I believe you Warren. I'll believe anything this week."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suicide help and hotlines:  
> World: befrienders.org  
> Australia: 13 11 14  
> USA: 1 800 273 TALK (8255)  
> Germany: 0800 111 0 111 or  
> 0800 111 0 222  
> Spain: 902500002  
> UK: 116 123  
> List of global crisis lines: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines


	10. 2.Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short because the epilogues are really short. But I still feel they stand alone better than as part of another chapter. I will be back with more soon as Covid 19 lock-down is giving me plenty of time to write.

Stood in their backyard, under the watchful gaze of David's outdoor camera he'd adjusted yesterday, he stood with Joyce holding her hand, both of them watching the sky turn dark as the eclipse began. He put an arm around her and she pulled him close for a hug.

In the Blackwell parking lot Principal Wells stood leaning over the driver's side window of Mark Jefferson's car engaged in a heated argument with him. Jefferson shook his head and started his engine, which startled the principal into stepping back. As he exited the car park he didn't get further than a few meters before he slowed, leaning forward in his seat and craning his neck to stare at the sky, Principal Wells stood in the parking lot watching too. All around him people had stopped getting into or out of their cars and were staring at the eclipse.

In her bedroom in the Blackwell dormitory Victoria did not see the eclipse, she lay on her bed face down and sobbed. There was a knock at her door and Nathan walked in, giving her a small supportive look rarely seen from him by most. They sat on the edge of her bed together, neither of them interested in what was happening outside.

On the beach Frank sat atop a large rock, he was stoned and assumed he was seeing things as he watched the eclipse over the sea, one hand messing with his dog, Pompidou's, fur absent mindedly.

In the hospital, Kate couldn't see the eclipse as she woke up from restless sleep surrounded by get well cards and flowers, she began to read her cards again because it made her smile to see how many people had gone out of their way to show they cared.

On the bench at the top of the cliff, at the foot of the lighthouse sat Chloe. She didn't react to the eclipse and continued smoking, then taking out her phone to contact Max. **I'M SORRY ABOUT KATE, HOPE UR OK.** She sent.

 **THE ECLIPSE WAS FREAKY.** She added, feeling bad about her earlier annoyance at the attention Max had given Kate.

Max replied to her quickly, shrugging Warren's arm off her shoulder as she reached into her pocket for her phone. 

**LET'S FIND OUT WHAT'S GOING ON. TOGETHER.** She sent back.

Elsewhere, in a strange room, was a shelf of red binders with names written on their spines, at the end of the row was still one marked 'Rachel' in black pen and neat handwriting. A similar binder lay on a nearby table littered with papers and photographs. The name 'Kate' was clearly labeled upon it. 


	11. 3.1

I jerked awake from bad sleep at a noise and knocked a pile of stuff off of my desk, I had fallen asleep sitting there last night. My phone was threatening to beep and vibrate off the desk, picking it up I saw a string of incoming texts from Chloe. It was the middle of the night. 

**MAX**

**WAKE UP**

**I HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU**

**MEET ME IN FRONT OF CAMPUS**

**GET THAT ASS IN GEAR NOW**

I stared bleary eyed at the bright screen and sighed, trying to blink myself awake. I looked around for my trainers, I was still dressed from yesterday, having fallen asleep at my desk. Before leaving I stopped and fed Kate's rabbit who was now staying temporarily in her cage in a corner of my room. I walked out into the corridor which was dark and quiet but for the occasional muffled noise or light suggesting that not everyone was asleep. I crept out silently to the grounds outside the dorms, it felt very weird without anyone there, especially after most of the school had gathered there the day before when Kate was on the roof. 

Then I saw Principal Wells, he was pacing with his back to me and and standing close to where I needed to go. I watched him mumbling to himself before taking a seat on the steps facing towards the path to the main campus.

"Fuck it... They can't expel me." He slurred loudly to himself and laughed. He seemed very drunk. 

I wondered if he'd even look up if I walked past in front of him. I decided there was no harm in trying, and started to walk towards the main campus as quickly and casually as possible.

"Miss Caulfield you have to be stealthier than that, you're not supposed to be outside your dormitory at this hour, you know that." He said to me, trying and failing to keep a steady sober voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm still tense after I thought Kate was going to jump earlier. I needed to go for a walk." I said, which wasn't a complete lie.

"No... No explanation, seeing Kate come up on that roof... then seeing her come down with you... You saved her ass, maybe saved Blackwell." He ran a hand over his bald head. "Now don't get cocky, go on back inside, you've earned good dreams."

I started to walk away while thinking. When I'd first seen him he had been facing away from me and the path. I started to rewind until he was pacing with his back to me again, I crept past him as quickly and quietly as possible before breaking into a run down the path.

I came out onto the main campus grounds and leaned over breathing heavily. Someone suddenly ran up behind me and grabbed my shoulders shouting "Boo Yah!"

I pushed Chloe off me crossly, "You're an asshole, I just stopped my friend jumping off the roof, I don't need you pranking me."

"I'm sorry, but this is good Max! You absolutely saved her! We should be having fun!" She grabbed my arm and skipped excitedly.

I sighed. "Kate saved herself, I couldn't even use my power, it was like my head was being crushed and I had no idea what I was doing up on top of that roof or what to say to her."

"Don't be so modest, you must've said the right thing, and I still think your power is going to save us all!" She paused and looked thoughtful, "We just need to connect the players..."

"And find out who almost killed Kate." I added. "We have to stop this from happening to anyone else."

"Oh yeah, and somehow stop a tornado from wiping out Arcadia Bay... right?" Said Chloe. I struggled to read the expression on her face and tell if she was still taking me seriously.

We crouched in the bushes, away from the prying eyes of any teacher or David who might be wandering around after dark. "But Chloe, didn't you say it was all about 'Chaos Theory'? I don't see any control over this chaos." 

She looked at me like I was dumb, "Oh yeah, except your ability to... Oh yeah, manipulate time and space. No biggie." 

I felt deflated, "I feel weird about some of my decisions, I mean I even got Nathan suspended Chloe."

She looked at me seriously, I could see her forehead wrinkle in the darkness. "Dude. Do not even torture yourself like that. It's Nathan. And you saved Kate. Let's focus on looking for clues, okay?"

I knew she was at least half right. "Okay, there's too much coincidence between the people around Kate and Rachel. We need to figure that out."

"You mean like step-prick and Nathan Prescott?" She asked.

"I mean yeah, but not just them."

"I guess I'm a little fixated on those two particular guys I want to beat the shit out of at the moment." Said Chloe looking pissed off. "I can still feel David hitting my face. At least you stepped in last time."

"We'll figure him out Chloe, we'll figure all this out. And even though I don't know her it feels like Rachel is leading us to the truth." I tried to be reassuring.

"Sometimes I think fuck the truth, I just want to find my friend right now. It scares me to think where she could be... do you think she's..."

"Kicking it in Los Angeles?" I interrupted. "Yeah, possibly."

"She wouldn't leave without me. And how often do missing girls turn up?" She brushed blue hair out of her face trying to hide the fact she was flustered and upset. "We have to find her soon." She added quietly."

"We will, like you said, I'm sure it's all part of finding the truth about what's going on around here. So tell me, what's the big secret I'm missing sleep for?" I asked.

Chloe looked smug now. "Drum roll please! Well actually don't, keep quiet." She held up a bunch of keys in the moonlight. "I present to you, the spare keys to Blackwell, thank you step-ass."

"Oh my god Chloe how did you get those from him? I really don't want you getting in any more trouble..." I said. "But this is awesome though." I added, to show my appreciation.

Chloe stuck her head out from behind the bushes and then stood up and started walking towards the school building. "Look at all the trouble dropping in Arcadia Bay. At this point, who gives a fuck anymore? Let's go."

\---

We began to walk the final short stretch of path leading to the main front doors of the school. Large panels exhibiting Mark Jefferson's photography were placed on the front lawn leading to the doors, we heard a voice and stepped off the path behind a large shadowy photo of a woman.

"Thank you again _so_ much for helping me put together a portfolio." I recognised the gushing voice as Victoria's.

I peered out from behind the photo, Victoria and Jefferson were talking on the front steps.

"Yes, hopefully the rest of the class will follow your lead. I'm sorry for how distracted I've been, as you know it has not been a good day for Blackwell." He replied, me and Chloe kept very quiet and did our best to hear him from our position a short distance away.

"It has been terrible, but you can talk to me anytime Mr Jefferson." Said Victoria in the special voice she usually saved for leaning over his desk at the end of class.

Jefferson shifted backwards slightly. "Thank you, Victoria. I'm glad things turned out relatively okay."

"I don't know what I would have done if Katie had jumped..." Said Victoria sounding emotional.

Jefferson looked puzzled, "'Katie?' I didn't know you two were close... Did she?" He added a little bluntly.

Victoria looked awkward and changed the subject. "How does this affect the Everyday Heroes contest?"

"Well as far as I'm concerned it doesn't, it's going ahead and I still have to pick a winner to best represent Blackwell. I've got all the photos except one from Max." Jefferson explained, he seemed more comfortable with the subject change as well.

Victoria scoffed, "Look, I can give you a one-word sneak preview of Max's photo... Selfie! You've seen mine, you know it's better than that. Wouldn't it be so cool to hang out in San Francisco together Mark?" I was pretty sure I could see her fluttering her eyelashes in the dark.

Jefferson stood up straight and cleared his throat. "Stick to Mr Jefferson please Victoria. And I have not picked a winner yet." He took a step down the steps but Victoria grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"You love my work, so it's not playing favourites. Imagine if you picked my photo, we would have to spend a lot of time together... it could be... fun, don't you think?" She said to him seductively. 

He shook his head. "I'm going to think that you didn't say any of that."

Victoria gave him the kind of smile I could recognise at a distance as the same one she'd given me when she told me to 'go fuck my selfie.' 

"Mark you might as well choose me, otherwise I might have to tell people that you offered to choose my photo in exchange for something inappropriate." She said, and smiled again.

Jefferson stared at her and then continued down the steps. "As a favor to your future I'll ignore that undisguised threat. But we're done here Miss Chase, it's after curfew, I suggest you go back to your dorm now."

We watched Victoria's cool demeanor drop as she yelled for him to wait, muttering 'are you fucking kidding me' as she walked past us to the dorms, far too lost in what had just happened to look sideways and see us.

I turned to Chloe, "Holy shit. I didn't realise Victoria was that bad." 

"She's been like that a long time." Said Chloe. "Let's do what we came here for."

I pulled myself up off the damp ground and grabbed Chloe's hand, pulling her up and dragging her after me to the front door. Chloe fumbled with the keys but eventually found the right one and let us in as quietly as she could. The main hall was deadly silent and lit only by moonlight steaming in through the windows and the glow of the vending machines against one wall. I shivered. 

"Chloe I don't know about this we're both already in so much trouble, this is breaking and entering." I said, taking hold of Chloe's arm because the empty school felt creepy.

"If I have a key how can it be breaking, they can't charge us just for entering!" Chloe said, walking towards the principal's office door.

I hung back, "Chloe, I'm serious, we could go to jail." I hissed.

"I'm related to the head of Blackwell security. He does things his way, thinks he is the supreme authority on everything. Step-shit will not want me in the hands of the local police who won't treat him like he's one of them." Chloe explained confidently. "We need to find out what's in the principal's office first. You can rewind if we get caught, right? I still can't believe your powers Max." She began trying keys. 

"My powers didn't save Kate though, I don't know what did. Maybe I did." I said as Chloe triumphantly found the right key and opened the door.

The door didn't open into the principal's office, instead we were in an adjoining room with some filing cabinets and a secretary's desk. Chloe was at the door to Well's office looking through her keys.

"What the fuck!" She exclaimed, "the security officer should have access to the principal's office, why is there no key?"

I came over to double check all the keys and confirm none of them would open the door. "He's hiding something. Like seemingly everyone around here." I whispered.

"Well that just makes me want to get this door open even more." She crouched down and peered into the keyhole. "Believe it or not, I know a little about lock picking, thanks to spending time with the likes of Frank... May as well put it to the test." She pulled out some junk from her pockets and found what she was looking for to begin trying to pick the lock.

"What the hell... you may as well add breaking to our entering, we're in this deep." I told her.

Chloe turned to me. "Well, uh, you could look for a key. You know, just in case..."

After checking every drawer in the secretary's desk and trying all the filing cabinets only to find most of them were locked, I had not found a key. Chloe was still fiddling with the lock and swearing at it quietly. 

"Chloe," I said, "there's no key here but I do have a backup plan, just in case."

"Go for it, I don't think I spent enough time with Frank but I'm going to keep trying." She called back without looking up.

I stepped out of the room into the creepy shadowy entrance hall and called Warren.

"Warren are you awake? I need your physics expertise. Without naming names, if someone had access to the art and science labs and wanted to construct a device that would, say, open a locked door, would you maybe kind of know how?"

"What are you trying to do Max?" Warren asked me.

"No, no, I'm just asking for fun."

"I can probably come up with something..." He said sleepily.

"Thanks Warren."

"Okay, I'll text you what I come up with."

"Great thank you again." I said hanging up.

I went back into the other room where Chloe was punching the door with frustration.

"Max I can't get us in, what's your plan?" she asked. 

"Shh." My phone chimed. "I am about to go and put my plan together now, don't wake up the whole school." 

"Damn, I really thought I was gonna get us in here, I'm gonna keep trying, the race is on Max." She declared.

"Sure Chloe." I said, grabbing the bunch of keys off the floor from next to her.

I stepped back into the hall and looked at the text from warren, he had sent me a string of texts. 

**YOU NEED TO FIND: SUGAR, A SODA CAN, DUCT TAPE, SODIUM CHLORATE.**

**HERES HOW YOU DO IT:**

Then he'd sent a hastily sketched diagram that showed I was supposed to put the sugar and sodium chlorate into the can and wrap it in lots of duct tape and then set fire to it. I had my concerns about this plan.

 **ANY QUESTIONS?** He asked.

 **SODIUM CHLOR-WTF??** I asked.

 **IT'S JUST A POWDER USED TO MAKE CHLORINE DIOXIDE** He replied unhelpfully.

 **OF COURSE WARREN EVERYONE KNOWS THAT.** I texted back while rolling my eyes

 **SO ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO TRY THIS?** He asked.

 **THE KEY WORD HERE IS 'TRY'**. I replied, figuring there was no point pretending this was just a thought experiment any longer, I might need more help.

I went over to the glowing vending machines and checked the bins next to them but they'd been emptied at the end of the day to I put a coin in the machine and got a can from it. Then I walked out of the hall and up the silent corridor sipping the cola from the can to empty it, my footsteps echoed on the polished floor as I moved around. I went to the door of the science lab and used one of Chloe's keys to unlock it. I could hardly believe my luck when I saw a box of sugar on the end of Mrs Grant's desk next to her cafetiere and a mug. I took it and wondered if she would notice and what she would think if she did.

I knew that sodium chlorate would most likely be found in this lab but I had no idea what I was looking for. I took out my phone and opened a private window in the browser, _Sodium chlorate is commonly used as a weedkiller_ said the first result. Typical Warren not to mention that kind of information. I didn't want to have to go back out into the grounds to borrow some from Samuel and risk being caught out there, so I began searching the lab, knowing they used all kinds of chemicals and things in their experiments that Warren loved. Eventually after going through every single drawer and cabinet I saw some right out in the open on the shelf in a box marked Weedkiller and NaCLO3 which thanks to my previous googling I could recognise as sodium chlorate. Warren must've known it was there when he told me to use it.

Then I just needed tape, I remembered us using some to set stuff up in one of Jefferson's classes last week. I hoped it would still be around. I locked up the lab and unlocked the art room, eventually I found it at the back of the room by the printer. I paused by my own desk in that room and began to assemble the device Warren had instructed me to make, I was very unsure of the correct quantities and ratios so I just had to guess. I felt uneasy as I carried the taped up final result back towards the secretary's room where Chloe was still trying to pick the lock.  
  



	12. 3.2

I walked up behind Chloe who was still crouched by the lock and placed a hand on her shoulder, she turned around and I showed her the wrapped up can-bomb in my hand.

"Let's try this instead?" I suggested.

"Hella yes, how the hell did you come up with that?" She said, jumping up.

"I have my contacts..." I joked. Unwrapping the edge of the tape on the can and using it to attach the can to the door handle. I felt a bit nervous about what was going to happen when we lit this DIY contraption, and terrible though it may sound, I figured Chloe had to be the one to do it. If it went horribly wrong I didn't want to be left unable to rewind and save us both. "Chloe, as you're the one with the lighter I'll let you do the honor." I said to her.

Chloe shrugged and stepped forwards, she pulled a scrap of paper from her pocket, probably a parking ticket, and rolled it up before sticking the end into the can's powdery contents. She stood with it at arm's length and lit the paper, before rushing back to stand behind the secretary's desk with me. We waited a half second and I was pretty sure our makeshift wick had extinguished itself until I heard an enormous 'BOOM!' and felt the whole room shake. We dived under the desk as the door was blown off its hinges. Warren's sketch had not done justice to the size of the blast and I was glad we had stood back.

When the dust had settled, Chloe turned to me under the desk. "That was fucking amazing." She said. Before I could respond I was interrupted by a piercing alarm noise, the volume was so high I could hardly think. I needed to undo this before the entire police and fire department showed up. I raised my hand to rewind but Principal Wells' office was open right now, if I undid this we might never get in. I ran into his office as though expecting to see a big file marked 'Secrets' that I could quickly grab before rewinding but of course there was nothing of the sort. Then it occurred to me, normally when I use my power without being under conditions of extreme pressure or stress it seems to follow some basic rules. I can only go back a short while, I always keep my possessions upon me (thank god or I'd end up naked each time), and I always stay in the same physical position.

I stood in the middle of Wells' office with the alarm going off around me and raised my hand and began to rewind. I went back until I saw the door replace itself and kept going a little further. I wasn't sure what would happen if I stopped when I was supposed to be on the other side of the door, nor did I want to get hit by the blast of the can-bomb. When I'd finished I was stood in a silent office, except for the sound of Chloe on the other side of the door trying to break in.

"She won't cheat with her rewind this time." Chloe said to herself sounding muffled through the door as she tried to pick the lock. "Oh fuck you door!" She said thumping on it in frustration.

I took this as my cue to reach down and open the lock and pull the door open. I wished I'd had my camera ready for the look on Chloe's face in that moment. I guess to her it must've looked like I teleported.

"You are magic." She said, blinking in amazement. "I have no idea how you did that."

"Nevermind." I said. "We could get busted any minute so let's find some info and get out."

Chloe approached his desk and turned on a small lamp, I guess she figured the risk of being caught from it was less significant than our need to actually see what we were doing.

"Ugh how can anyone trust somebody with a fucking bronze bird on their desk?" She said. "Look at the art in here, this dude has no taste, I'm glad I was expelled."

"Yes Chloe." I said rolling my eyes. "If only the principal of the school had a Monet or a Picasso, you'd still be a student here."

She rolled her eyes back at me. "I'm going to go through his ugly desk and his computer." She said, sitting herself down in the Principal's chair.

I looked around the room, the walls were lined with shelving and cabinets. I needed to start seeing what files I could find although it seemed like a mammoth task. I crossed to the other side of the room where one file was lying open on a side table. I wasn't surprised to see it was Kate's, I guess the principal had needed it since the incident. I looked at it, her GPA was the 3.9 I expected of a hard worker like Kate and the short description about her was complimentary about her school work, attitude, and religious extra curricular activities. However an update had been attached to the file on a second slip of paper stating that 'Kate Marsh was involved in a security incident involving a controversial video originating from a Vortex Club party.'

There was also a note from the school nurse addressed to Wells saying that Kate appeared to be suffering physical or mental trauma and would not talk to her about it. I felt angry seeing the date on that note was from a week ago. How much of her suffering could have been avoided by someone intervening sooner rather than shoving the note away in a file and ignoring it until it was too late?

I put the file back as I'd found it and moved on. Now I knew what student record files looked like I knew which shelves to go to and walked over to another shelf full of the big cardboard folders. They were alphabetized and curiosity got the better of me as I went directly to 'P' and pulled Nathan Prescott's file off the shelf. I was expecting a long and interesting read with many updates attached, including a recent one about him waving a gun around in the bathroom. Instead his record looked so perfect it read like it was entirely made up. Which it clearly was. His GPA was a 3.7 and what followed was a short description of Nathan as a model student, which culminated in the phrase "He stands as a proud representation of Blackwell Academy." I read that last bit out and Chloe looked up.

"Who?" She asked.

"Nathan Prescott apparently." I informed her.

"Yeah. Right." She said. "We'll both keep digging, there must be some real files on that guy, but his daddy will have ensured that they're difficult to find."

I nodded in agreement and carefully put back Nathan's file. But before I kept looking for dirt on Nathan there was something else I definitely wanted peep at. I pulled my own file off the shelf and opened it. My GPA was a 2.8 which I already knew, in the comments below they had written that the faculty said I had potential but that my GPA fluctuates a lot and that I'm often too quiet or too nosy depending on the class or situation. I felt a little bit hurt that the Principal had files in his office discussing how nosy he thought I was. When I looked through the rest of the file and found an update from yesterday about the incident involving Kate. It looked to be written by Principal Wells and he called my actions heroic but mentioned I'd had 'recent altercations with campus security.' _Who wouldn't have an altercation with David_?

As I put my own file back I realised Victoria's was nearby. This one is going to be so typically perfect. I grabbed her file and saw exactly what I expected; a 3.9 GPA and a glowing description that commended her dedication to the Vortex Club among other things. I replaced Victoria's file, Warren's was next and there was nothing particularly interesting there, he did however have a 4.0 GPA which was impressive.  
The next couple of files I had grabbed had been on the shelf below and were dustier. I opened one of them, they didn't seem to alphabetized. I recognized the picture of the girl in the file straight away from the posters everywhere, it was Rachel Amber. Her file wasn't what I was expecting, she too had a 4.0 GPA and the description for her could have been swapped for the description on Victoria's file without there being big difference. I had been expecting more signs of someone more troubled, or more of an outcast. Then I felt bad for not imagining Chloe could be friends with someone popular. Pinned onto the front of her file were two notices, one from a month after disappearance, stating that her whereabouts was unknown and that the school hoped for her return; and another from later, cropped from an email that the police department had sent to Principal Wells. It said that the investigation into her disappearance had been dropped.

I put Rachel's file back, processing what I'd just read, and then realized that if all the files down here were from people no longer attending the school, there might be another one worth checking out. I began flipping through them until I found it, Chloe's file. Principal Wells seemed to have enjoyed stamping the word EXPELLED in big red letters all over this one. Below where it said her GPA was a 1.7 there was a note attached saying 'Chloe is no longer a student at Blackwell Academy, see attached police reports." I glanced over the rest of her rather thick file, everything from vandalism to chronic truancy was detailed. I wasn't really surprised they'd kicked her out. However the common consensus among the various teacher's reports was that Chloe had a lot of intelligence and potential that she was squandering. I knew they were right, Chloe got accepted into the school on a scholarship just as I was leaving Arcadia Bay because of her intelligence and potential. I glanced over at the grown up, blue haired, tattooed Chloe sitting at the desk going through Principal Wells' computer. She had changed so much but she was still smart, and she was still Chloe.


	13. 3.3

I decided it was time to go and join Chloe and see what she had found on the desk and computer. I walked up and picked up the nearest bit of paper to me. It was a letter from the principal to Mrs Grant, it was written in his scribbly handwriting and had words scribbled out so I assumed it was just a draft. None the less the message was clear, he was telling her how her student petition had lead to the cancellation of the plans to place new security cameras around Blackwell. I felt slightly proud to have helped contribute to that. I put the letter down, smiling, and Chloe called me over to her side of the desk.

"Max, you'd better come check out these files." She told me. "Nathan accuses Rachel of bringing drugs on campus and it looks like my steptroll went along because he thinks Rachel was a bad influence on me... Assholes."

I bent down to read over her shoulder. "If David is teaming up with Nathan Prescott then that's got to be a bad sign of something." I said.

"Nathan Prescott the Third." Read Chloe off a file. "Oh he's so money... and you can tell the Prescotts dropped major cash to bury Nathan's real file. Look at it, bad grades, teacher complaints, secret probation and so on but I was the one who was expelled!"

"At least he was finally suspended, and look at that note." I said, pointing.

"It's just some crazy drawing." Said Chloe sounding bored.

I looked closely. "It's not a drawing." I said, feeling cold when I realised what I was seeing in scratchy handwriting. "Look at it Chloe, over and over again 'Rachel in the dark room', 'Rachel in the dark room'. He's written it hundreds of times all over."

"What the fuck does that mean?" Asked Chloe. " I knew he had something to do with her missing." She added.

"Whoa, listen to this" I read aloud from another scanned note of the same scratchy handwriting. "'David M. always asks what's going on in my head... David M. always helps me follow those he follows...' What does that mean? David and Nathan were literally teaming up for something?" I asked.

"It sounds like they're some sort of gross team." Said Chloe.

"Jesus, David was stalking Kate, hassling me, and now we know they were both all over Rachel too..." I said, trying to find the connection as to why.

"We are so going to have to go and explore his garage files." Said Chloe. "I'm getting a little freaked out by all this, we've got our info, can we bail now?"

"Of course." I told her.

Chloe leaned back looking mischievous. "But maybe we shouldn't leave without a gift?" She said.

"No Chloe, we are not stealing his cozy desk chair." I said.

"Max do your powers include mind reading?" She whined jokingly. "Or did you just rewind because I tried to steal the chair? I'm confused."

"It's just the powers of being your best friend Chloe. I know you." I told her. "Now you're right we should definitely get out of here, we've pushed our luck enough-"

"-Wow jackpot!" Interrupted Chloe, pulling open a drawer in the Principal's desk and taking an envelope out from it. 

I came over to see what she was looking at, the envelope was full of cash, at least a few hundred, more likely a couple thousand. "Chloe it's marked 'handicapped fund'" I said cautiously. "Although it's an awful lot for a school with no disabled students and that has no disabled facilities of any kind." I added.

Chloe rifled through the contents of the envelope. "Dude there's 5 thousand dollars here. I could pay Frank back tonight. Get his knife waving crap away from us both. Please Max, we both know this money probably isn't what it says it is. Don't make a a big issue out of this."

I shifted uncomfortably, stealing money was crossing lines I hadn't signed up for when I came out tonight, let alone money that might possibly be for doing good things for future disabled students. On the other hand there was a rough looking drug dealer with a knife and a big dog to whom Chloe owed money and I had already seen Chloe get killed and hurt more times than I could bear. I felt slightly frustrated towards towards Chloe as I realised I was going to have to let her take it.

"Frank knows things about Rachel and he might talk if he's been paid... Right?" I said tentatively. Trying to figure a way some more good could come out of this.

"Yeah, definitely a possibility." Said Chloe. "And, with the leftover cash I'll take you to Portland for the day, we can get beer, and tattoos, and weed, and doughnuts! Maybe hit up a strip club? Kidding... But you never know." She said excitedly getting up from the desk and stuffing the envelope in her pocket.

I felt shitty for taking that money as we began to put the other things back where we'd found them, turned off the computer, and switched off all the lights. As we left the principal's office Chloe dangled another key in front of me.

"Care for a midnight swim? The Blackwell pool is ours." She said impishly. 

"Chloe... Do you really want to take that risk now? We've got stolen cash on us now." 

"Come on, it's only been a few days and already its been a crazy week, we deserve some fun in the water. We're done for the night, we achieved what we wanted, we're rich, and no one busted us. Let's go celebrate in the pool." She said bouncing on the balls of her feet a little with eagerness.

"You're right. We hella deserve this." I conceded. 

She laughed. "Did you actually just say 'hella'? I think I'm a good bad influence on you."

\---

The smell of chlorine lingered and the pool water on the other side of a glass door looked creepy in the dark as we crept into the swimming pool building.

"Oh yeah I want that heated water!" Said Chloe running up to the doors to stare at the pool through the glass.

"Take it easy please." I said, not wanting to sound lame but feeling stressed. "I still go to school here remember."

"Max you can do what you like, this whole little school is in the palm of your hand. It's nothing to you, you can rewind freaking time!" She turned to face the locker room doors. "Boys or girls?"

"Uh girls?" I said because I am one.

"Girls?" She raised an eyebrow and lead the way.

I followed her in, turning my torch on on my phone to see as there was no moon light in the locker room. The girls locker room seemed reasonably tidy, for a locker room. The lockers had grills in the front and I could see some of them seemed to have stuff inside. I was intrigued when I saw the locker Victoria normally uses had stuff in it. I found a normal gym bag with a change of clothes but way better than that I found a bunch of selfies. She gives me so much crap for taking selfies and here she was doing an actual duckface. _Now who can go fuck their selfie Victoria?_ Me and Chloe got a fit of giggles looking at her silly pouty face but I reluctantly put them back, I refused to stoop to her level and plaster them all over social media. 

While I was there I also wanted to look at Kate's locker, I felt like I must've missed so many signs. Her locker was almost empty but for a small slip of paper lying flat in the bottom of it. I slid it out and saw it was a long distance bus ticket. Maybe she had been planning to disappear like Rachel at some point.

I put it back and continued through the locker room, into the shower room, and on to the pool area where Chloe was already sat by the water waiting, having got bored of waiting for me to snoop around.

"Give me a minute." I told her. "You'll get your swim but there are things I wanna check out while I'm here. Nathan's locker is just through there." I pointed. "We came here to get information relevant to Rachel and we know he is, and loads of people have left stuff in their pool lockers."

"Alright, hurry up, and see if you can find the pool lights while you're there. I mean the underwater ones, it'll look cool and I don't think it'll be bright enough for anyone to see." She said.

I nodded and slipped into the boys shower room, walking through it until I reached the boys lockers. I didn't know whose locker was whose but it didn't take long to spot a line of lockers that clearly belonged to the jocks like Nathan and his Vortex Club friends. They all had sports kits and letterman jackets in them. I was going through one of them when my fingers hit something at the back underneath some clothes that made a rattling noise. I pulled out several bottles of pills, I didn't think these looked like the kind of thing people would take for fun. I typed the name 'Risperadone' into google, it was an antipsychotic medication. The other one was diazepam which I had seen before and I knew it was a tranquilizer. I put them back carefully and left the room. 

When I found the pool light switches in the office I was still wondering about Nathan, was he unwell? How much of his behavior could be explained by this? I wondered what Prescott Sr was doing to support his son.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by Chloe whooping from by the pool. "Max! Get in here, the lights are on and it looks amazing."

I left the office, Chloe had pulled her clothes off and dived in the pool in her underwear as I walked in.

"Max, don't just stand there and watch me like a zombie!" She said, flicking a bit of water at me. 

"Okay, okay, I'm coming." I told her. I started to undress, suddenly feeling very self conscious. Five years ago we played dress up all the time, and before that we would even take baths together when we were tiny. But I hadn't seen Chloe for a long time, she had proper grown up underwear on under her tank top and jeans and she looked like a grown up, and I felt embarrassed by my plain knickers and mismatched bra. I stripped as fast as I could and jumped in the water doing a cannonball right next to Chloe, drenching her.

"You're so dead!" She laughed. Then we were both splashing each other until we tired out and lay back and floated on our backs.

"I wish Rachel was here for this, she'd have loved it." Said Chloe.

"We'll find her Chloe, we're piecing this together bit by bit." I told her.

She swam up the border of the pool and I followed her.

"Yeah you're right, your power is changing everything and you're becoming like a force of nature or something." She said.

"I don't know, its random luck Chloe, they failed when I tried to save Kate." I said, shivering a little in the water.

"But you saved her Max, and your powers didn't fail when you tried to save me." Said Chloe.

"If they had... you'd be... dead." I said. Feeling completely overwhelmed once again by all the times I'd seen Chloe die or get hurt.

"Stop looking back Max, anyway, it might've been terrible but you discovered your power and reconnected us."

"I'm trying to look at it that way, it's just hard." I explained.

She flicked water at me again. "Stop being so humble, you're the smartest most talented person I know, not to mention your power."

"What, even more so than Rachel Amber?" I asked.

"Dude I'm not her groupie. Anyway I'm sure you've got those Blackwell dudes all over you." She said.

"Ew I don't want any of the Blackwell bros all over me." I laughed. "Okay, there's a couple of cute guys but everyone thinks I'm a total nerd."

"Nerds can be hot, why I'm a big fan of science myself! You just need more confidence."

"Yeah sadly my power didn't bring that..." I said.

"Once you get confident you're going to make the world bow with your powers, so probably for the best. Anyway I'm freezing as we're not moving in here." She pulled herself out of the water.

I followed her, awkwardly clambering onto the side of the pool. I realised we had no towels, and now I was chlorine-y and cold and wet. I felt gross as I slowly eased my jeans back on over wet clammy skin. 

"Let's not do this again without bringing towels." I said.

"yeah, this is gross." Laughed Chloe, goosebumps appearing on her bare tattooed arms as she pulled her white tank top back on.

We both laughed at our poor planning skills as we pulled the remainder of our clothes on, I had just shoved one of my damp feet into my shoe, having given up on my socks and pocketed them, when the door at the far end of the pool was thrown open.


	14. 3.4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ready for the mosh pit shaka brah.

"Hide!" I hissed to Chloe. She nodded and ran into the boy's shower and locker room.

I ducked into the nearest doorway which was the girl's shower and locker room, from the sounds of the footsteps running around the side of the pool there was only one person looking for us. _David?_ I began moving around as quickly and quietly as possible, pretty sure whoever it was would hear my wet shoes squelching from a mile away. I ran into the middle bathroom stall and hid there. I hoped that darkness and shadow would provide enough cover if someone glanced this way, but I also I hoped he would come this way rather than going into the other bathroom, because I could rewind if he caught me, Chloe couldn't and I couldn't see if they caught her. I wished we'd gone together, splitting up had seemed like a good idea at the time but now I was scared for us both.

I heard footsteps in the bathroom nearby. I shrank back into the shadows, I'd left the cubicle door open so it wouldn't look obvious someone was hiding inside, so I had to hope no one looked directly inside or my cover would be blown. I held my breath as a torch light swung past the cubicle I was in. The footsteps paused and then moved on. I breathed out. I waited another minute or so and then left my hiding spot and continued back the way I'd just come to the pool area, I needed to find Chloe and get out. Someone crept up behind me and grabbed me while shushing me. Chloe spun me round to look at her. 

"Chloe would you stop fucking sneaking up on me tonight." I whispered.

"We've gotta run Max." She said grabbing my hand and leading me around the pool in a hurry.

We ran out of the building and started towards the dorms until we saw a guard with his back to us hanging out right in our path. Chloe quickly grabbed my hand again and lead me off in the opposite direction silently. We hopped down a small wall into the parking lot and got into her truck as the guard turned and shouted after us. Chloe started the engine and screeched the car round and out of the lot as I was still trying to close my door and put my seat belt on.

"You can't go back to the dorms tonight, sleep at mine." Said Chloe breaking the silence once we'd put a little distance between us and the school.

"You want me to sleep where the head of Blackwell security lives in order to avoid them?" 

"He's got no proof we were the people there, come on, we were awesome, don't ruin it now, I want to have a sleepover." She said.

"It would be fun to do that again." I agreed.

\---

I blinked awake as sunlight filtered into Chloe's room and hit my face. I looked over at Chloe, she was still asleep. I felt nostalgic, I hadn't woken up in this room for 5 years. I fumbled inside my bag at the side of the bed and took out my camera, I propped myself up to take a selfie of this moment.

"Photobomb!" Yelled Chloe who had apparently just woken up. I took the photo of both of us, Chloe's eyeliner had smudged everywhere after the pool and sleep and my hair looked like a birds nest but I still liked the photo.

"We left a skidmark on Blackwell last night." Smirked Chloe.

"Like it needs another one." I giggled. "But I wish I could do something good for the school and Arcadia Bay, I can't even pick a photo to represent... I'm too afraid of rejection."

"Every great artist gets rejected before they get accepted so you have to give it a go." Said Chloe.

"Even though if I won I'd be representing the school and town you hate?" I asked.

"Oh come on I don't actually want to burn down Arcadia Bay or anything like that, I just say shit like that because I've been trying to get out of here since... Well, since you left. And if I could get Rachel back and pay Frank off I'd leave and start a new life." She reached for a remote and started music on her stereo, effectively ending the conversation.

I climbed out of the bed. "I wish we could hang out all day but I have afternoon classes to get back for." I told her.

I went over and picked up my clothes from last night. They were damp and smelly.

"Ew, this reeks like a chlorine factory." I said dropping it back down.

"Help yourself to my closet." She said gesturing vaguely in the direction of her closet.

I opened the door, staring unsure at Chloe's shirts, tank tops, ripped jeans, and various black items of clothing.

"Hey look, there you go, on the left side, Rachel left a bunch of her clothes with me. She's more your size." Pointed out Chloe.

"But not really my style..." I said touching a checked red and black shirt with a rip in the shoulder.

"Max, you don't have a style yet. Give it a go, you can always rewind back to your chloriney T-shirt and generic jeans." Said Chloe.

"Okay, ouch, you suck. But fine I guess I'll give it a go." I huffed.

"Stop second guessing yourself! Let your inner punk rock girl out, you can afford to take chances now, whenever and whatever you want to try! You can rewind freaking time Max. For instance I dare you to kiss me." She said, standing up.

"What?" 

"I double dare you, kiss me now." She said stepping closer.

I froze, thinking. 

"I knew you didn't have it-" Said Chloe, I had missed my chance to react. So I interrupted her by rewinding.

"-kiss me now." She said, once again stepping up to me. I leaned forward and pecked her on the lips quickly.

She looked startled and stepped back. "Damn, you're hardcore Max. Now I can text Warren and tell him he really doesn't have a chance." She sat down on the bed. "You'd better not undo that."

I turned away from her, felling my cheeks turning a bit pink. _Had I just made things really awkward?_ I was very unsure about Chloe's request not to rewind and undo it but I decided to honor her wishes. I took the red checked shirt out from the closet, a T-shirt with a band logo I didn't recognise, and a pair of Rachel's jeans. I put the clothes on and turned back to Chloe pulling the shirt on over the T-shirt like a jacket. I felt a bit less embarrassed now I wasn't in my underwear.

"It looks good Max, a few tattoos, maybe some piercings, then you'd really look hardcore." She said.

"I did think maybe an infinity symbol would make a cool tattoo." I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Maybe not that hardcore. Go down and say hello to Joyce, she'll insist on giving you breakfast, I want to smoke a bit first... you know..." She glanced at a joint she'd rolled while I got dressed.

"I won't tell. See you in a bit." I said, leaving and closing the door behind me. The smell of bacon and pancakes hung in the air outside and I quickly made my way downstairs.


	15. 3.5

I walked downstairs, I could see into the kitchen where Joyce was cooking up a storm, and into the living room that I think I'd spent more time in as a kid than in my own living room. A sideboard sat near the living room entrance and there was a light flashing on the landline phone on top of it. I decided there was no harm in giving into my nosy urges as I could always rewind. I pressed play and a man's voice played over the speaker, I heard Joyce stop what she was doing in the kitchen to listen to it as well.

"David, this is officer Corm... Just wanted to say that your stepdaughter's car was identified at Blackwell at the time of the break-ins... Give me a call soon..."

Joyce came out of the kitchen. "What? Are you in trouble again Chloe?" She said looking around for her. I shifted awkwardly. _I don't want to have to see how this plays out._ I raised my hand and rewound.

I looked around, Joyce was back in the kitchen and I was alone by the phone, I deleted the message. It made a beep and I expected Joyce to come running but she was beating something quite noisily in the kitchen and didn't notice. I went into the kitchen and said good morning.

"Oh my goodness!" She said startled. "I thought you were Rachel for a moment there... Thank god you're not a hell-raiser like her or Chloe. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Definitely eggs and bacon. If that's okay." I said.

"Of course, grab the bacon from the fridge for me." She instructed. I grabbed the bacon for her.

"Thank you." Joyce said. "After all this time it's great to see you and Chloe back together again, she hasn't really had a good friend since Rachel and you... Those clothes remind me so much of her. I just hope she's living it up in LA like she always said she would." Said Joyce as she cracked two eggs into the pan.

"I'd love to think that too Joyce but you know..." I trailed off.

"I do, we're on the same page Max. I keep hoping she'll send a post card from Hollywood or wherever she ended up." She said.

"Being honest Joyce, do you think Rachel is really okay?" I asked cautiously.

"I really hope so Max... She was always smart and landed on her feet after everything but maybe I didn't know her as well as I thought. Maybe Chloe didn't either." She said, flipping over sizzling rashers of bacon.

"I guess we all feel like that sometimes, I mean sometimes I feel like I don't know Chloe as well as I thought." I said.

She laughed. "Max Caulfield, are you actually jealous of Rachel?"

"Um... Maybe, she seems a lot cooler than me." I said awkwardly, thinking of Chloe's comments about my clothes upstairs.

"Well I don't think Chloe thinks so, she's been saying she wishes she was more like you for the last 5 years. And keep that between us." She winked.

"Really? Five years feels like a thousand years ago." I said.

"Max, you're 18, that would make me what? A million years old?" She laughed. And handed me a plate of bacon and eggs. "Go to the table and tuck in."

I began devouring my breakfast and Joyce left the room and then came back with a photo album. "Your nostalgia is contagious Max, and seeing you again made me remember so much." She put the book down on the table and sat down. " I know these probably don't measure up to your photos Max..."

"Actually my favourite photographers are ones who take pictures a lot like these. You've made David look really happy." I said, carefully wiping my fingers on a napkin before touching the album.

"He is quite happy, and he wants us all to be happy. He just shows it his own way..." Said Joyce.

We looked through more pictures which got progressively older, I saw some of Rachel, and then we came across a picture of Me and Chloe in 2008. _Oh my god I remember that day._

"Joyce... This photo... I remember it so well" I said.

"I'm glad." She said. It was the last photo William ever took. You can see he used his old instant camera... He took his car out right after and... and..." She stopped. I reached out and held her hand.

"I know Joyce, I'm so sorry." I said, looking down and mine and Chloe's grinning faces in the photo. I hadn't seen Chloe smile like that since.

"I didn't show you this to be morbid." Said Joyce. "Actually you should have that photo, you're in it and it's a wonderful picture of when my baby was still so full of light and happiness, everything that she's not got today. I know you'll take good care of it because you care about her." She slid the photo out and handed it to me.

"Thank you, I'll keep it safe. I told her. 

My phone chimed and I looked at Joyce apologetically before checking it,

 **I'LL COME AND KEEP HER DISTRACTED WHILE YOU GO HAVE A LOOK AROUND THE GARAGE.** It was from Chloe of course. I put my phone away and acted like it was nothing. Chloe came bounding into the room.

"Have you two been having a good bonding session talking about me?" She demanded.

"Chloe, please, not everything is about you." Said Joyce.

"Oh would you stop getting up in my shit and treating me like I'm self centred whenever I know you're talking about me?" She said heatedly.

They started to bicker loudly and I realised when Chloe shot me a meaningful look that this was the aforementioned distraction. I excused myself to go to the bathroom but diverted into the garage while Joyce was looking the other way at Chloe. Chloe caught my eye as I slipped past the door as quietly as possible.

\---

I went into David's garage, I'd had a pretty good look through all of this 2 days ago and everything looked quite similar. I needed new information so I went back to his laptop and typed in the password 'joyce' again. Thankfully he hadn't changed it, I wondered if he was the kind of guy to change it every week and I had just gotten extremely lucky or if paranoid-surveillance-expert-David actually sucked at cyber security and used his wife's name full time as a password. Last time I had opened his computer I'd looked through his email quickly as that was what he'd left open in the browser, now I wanted a proper look at all his files. I opened up file explorer and began looking through all the files on his hard drive. Most of it seemed irrelevant but I found a file marked 'bwell'. _This has to be Blackwell stuff._ I opened it and inside were loads of files, security system details, timetables, etc. But I drawn to one marked students and opened that. 

This contained more files labeled with initials. I opened 'MC' quickly and saw photos of me, my student ID, and timetable. _Weird and creepy._ I opened KM, there were several pictures of Kate on campus, which figured as I'd seen him going after her with a camera. He'd also added a lot of his own comments to these pictures. Starting with 'Kate takes the same route to class every day', continuing onto far fetched ideas such as 'Kate stays in the bathroom longer than other students. Drugs?' and even 'Kate has kept to herself since vortex party. Not even church. Drugs?'. He had ended this list of comments with 'Tried to talk to Kate about the party. She got upset and ran. Guilty.'

This felt like a big insight into how David's mind worked. There were plenty of other comments and to me they all told the story of a previously happy, churchgoing girl, who went to a party that clearly caused some sort of trauma. All David could see were guilt and potential threats to Blackwell such as drugs.

I closed 'KM' and opened 'RA'. This was the file I most needed to see, Rachel's. David had written numerous times about Rachel cutting class and also about her meeting with Frank Bowers. I scrolled down, there was a photo of Rachel standing in front of Frank, both of them by his RV. she was standing very close to him. The photo was taken from too far away to see what they were doing. They could have been talking, or drug dealing, or... Kissing. David hadn't added any specific thoughts here, I guess he knew what they were doing already as he had spied on them. 

At the end of Rachel's file was an attached police report. I expected documentation regarding her disappearance but this file was older, and reported her being caught with a bag of drugs on campus several months before the time of her disappearance. _Hmm, her Blackwell record had been pretty spotless too._

I closed the file explorer, and decided to rewind to before I touched the laptop so David wouldn't have any way of knowing I'd been through it. 


	16. 3.6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving soon, it's taking a lot of prep because of quarantine and there's a lot to do once I'm moved. So, I'm sorry these parts are coming less frequently but that's why.

I left the garage and closed the door behind me as quietly as possible. I walked nonchalantly toward the table where Chloe and Joyce were arguing and jumped when I heard a key in the front door lock. Joyce got up from the table as she heard David come in.

"David you're back already?" She said, surprised.

David looked annoyed and he slammed the door slightly behind him. "I need to take a nap after writing up vandalism reports all night." He explained.

"What happened?" Asked Joyce in a soothing tone.

"Some little shitass punks broke into the swimming pool." He said, clearly not soothed. "It's what happens at these bullshit PC colleges, entitled students think they own the place."

"Do you know for sure it was Blackwell students?" Asked Joyce, I was starting to feel really uneasy.

"Who the hell else would it be?" Said David walking past her towards the living room.

His gaze shifted to me, making me feel like a deer caught in a headlight. "Figures you'd be here." He said. "What's that? Your Rachel Amber Halloween costume?"

"You seem to know a lot about her and how she dressed." I said, surprising myself a little with the aggressiveness of my tone.

"No, you, Chloe, and every other teenager in the world are the ones who think you know everything." He said loudly.

Joyce placed an arm on his shoulder. "Leave Max alone." She said firmly. "Stop threatening students."

Chloe had stepped out from behind the table. "He threatens them with surveillance cameras. So he can spy on them like he spies on all of us here." She said.

"Don't start Chloe." Warned David.

"Yeah, because I'm the one in the wrong here." Retorted Chloe.

"Not now Chloe." He said tensely.

"You used to call me a loser for getting kicked out of Blackwell... So who's the loser now, David? Who haven't you accused or harassed? Between your investigations into Rachel and Kate, what have you done besides get in trouble?" Said Chloe, ignoring his warnings. 

He looked like he was about to explode at Chloe and I stepped in between them. "You're a bully David. I saw you harass Kate Marsh when she was going through hell. You could have helped her. Everybody at Blackwell is a suspect to you, except for Nathan Prescott... That's why the students and faculty don't like you. I mean you even threatened me. I do respect your service, but you don't respect anybody."

"Uh... What?" Said David processing my outburst before waving a hand in the air and dismissing it. "You were smoking pot in Chloe's room. That's illegal."

"So is spying on your family and people in your workplace. Why is it that you have pictures of Rachel Amber and Kate Marsh in your files anyway?" I said, enjoying the alarmed and startled look on his face. I opened my mouth but Joyce stepped up behind and put a hand on my shoulder as she interrupted me.

"What, is this true Max?" She asked and I nodded. "Yes David, why do you have those files at all? I find this very disturbing." She demanded of him.

David sounded outraged. "I do not have to take this kind of interrogation. Not from you people!" He added self righteously. 

Joyce looked at him firmly, keeping calm but her face was giving her away. "I think you need to calm down David." She said evenly.

"Oh?" He almost yelled. "Now you're turning on me as well? Of course. Girls always stick together... Screw all of you." He added with contempt in his voice.

"David you need to go to a hotel... For now... Until you calm down and we figure all this out." Said Joyce, raising her arms slightly behind her to keep me and Chloe back and place herself firmly between David and us. Internally I was taken aback and impressed by her bravery. 

"What? You can't kick me out of my home!" He spluttered.

"A home that I paid for and in my name, yes I can. You know the laws very well don't you?" She asked him coldly.

"I thought I knew a lot of things." He sounded more defeated now. "I do know when I'm outflanked." He turned and began to walk away.

"Have a nice day!" Said Chloe sarcastically. Joyce turned and gave her a terrifying look.

"For once Chloe, just shut up." She said quietly before walking over to the dining table and sitting down, slumped and silent. _I hope she's okay and doesn't hate me for ripping into David and causing all this with my big mouth. Maybe I need to rewind._

I looked at Joyce sitting at the table silently and felt like a homewrecker. _I could undo all of this. Not say anything... Or side with David even._ Chloe was already waiting at the front door for me and looked slightly happier than usual. David had gone elsewhere, presumably to pack some stuff. 

I decided that this was for the best in the long run. Joyce deserved so much better than an angry man who spied on her. I walked up to where Chloe was standing. She leaned over and spoke quietly. "Max that was brilliant. And you'd better not rewind this one."

"Don't worry, I wont." I said, a little uncertainly. She opened the front door and we both went out to her car. "So... where to now?" I asked.

"Well that depends what you saw in the garage, aside from those disturbing files on Kate and Rachel." She said, so I began filling her in. She looked upset when I spoke about seeing photos of Rachel and Frank.

"Right." She said when I'd finished. "We need to know more about Frank's connection to Rachel," and quickly pulled out of the driveway. I hastily put my seat belt on before she threw me into the windscreen. 

\---

We arrived at the parking lot next to the Two Whales Diner and Chloe parked her truck and looked around. "There." She said. "Frank's RV. It's here all the time except when he's off doing whatever the hell Frank does. He's either in it, in which case we're a little screwed, or hopefully he's inside overstaying his welcome in the end booth inside the diner."

"What do you want to do?" I asked.

"Look around his RV, I don't believe at all that him and Rachel were... What you said. But he did have her bracelet and god knows what else is in there." She said and got out of the truck. I followed her. She stood by the back window of the RV and stretched up on her tiptoes to peer in the grimy window. "It's empty." She said.

"Are you sure?" I asked. Remembering the knife and me almost shooting him. 

"Yes." She said a bit impatiently. "Let's check the door, he's sometimes too stoned to lock it." She tried the handle and a dog started barking loudly inside. "Shit!" She whispered loudly. "I didn't see the dog. It's locked."

We backed away from the RV, watching for signs of Frank running to the call of his barking dog, but he didn't appear. "Shitballs." She said. "Okay, here's the plan. I'll go to the diner and distract Frank by telling him I have his money, but he needs to come with me. Then you come in and rewind so Frank doesn't see me, then you can tell Frank he needs to check out his RV and then you rewind after you get the key, and... uh... and..." She trailed off.

"Leave it to me." I told her, and walked towards the diner, not completely sure what I was going to do but pretty sure I could rewind out of anything bad. 


	17. 3.7

As I approached the diner I heard my phone and I took it out from the front of my messenger bag, it was my dad messaging me.

**MAXINE. POP HERE. I'M SORRY I HAVEN'T GOTTEN IN TOUCH SOONER. I KNOW YOUR MOM IS VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR SAVING THAT GIRL. AS AM I. WE HAVE NO DOUBT SENDING YOU TO BLACKWELL WAS THE BEST THING YOU EVER DEMANDED WE DO. IT MAKES US SO PROUD TO READ ABOUT YOU IN THE NEWS AND SEE ACTUAL VIDEO OF YOU WALKING DOWN FROM THE ROOF WITH THAT GIRL.**

**THAT SAID, IF YOU WANT TO COME AND GO TO SCHOOL NEAR HOME NOW AND RELAX, THE DOOR IS WIDE OPEN. LOVE POP**

I smiled at his message as I stood outside the door to the diner, I knew there was no chance I was abandoning Chloe and Blackwell, but it was nice to hear from him. The smile faded as I walked into the diner and spotted Frank in his end booth. The smell of bacon hung in the air but didn't even make me hungry as I swallowed the lump in my throat and approached Frank.

He looked up from his plate. "You've got some nerve." He said with his mouth full. "Showing up here after you almost shot me? Hanging with Chloe and playing with guns while dressed up like Rachel doesn't make you cool or tough. The fuck do you want?"

"How do you know these are Rachel's clothes I asked?" Surprised how many people had recognised this outfit today.

"Because she looked beautiful in it and you look like ass." He said, unpoetically. "Aiming a gun doesn't make you any sexier." 

I laughed off his comments. "Let's grab your keys and check out your RV?" I suggested.

"Yeah... Let's not." He said. "You fucking creep me out." 

I stepped back. _In other words, no keys. Maybe I can chat to the police officer or even Nathan who I saw in the other booth, go all Groundhog Day on them until I get the info I need... I just need to keep trying things._

I looked back at Frank, _maybe I could get him to move away from his stuff..._ I grabbed his plate out from in front of him and tipped the contents onto the floor. 

"I was eating those beans." He said quietly, and then much louder, "I WAS EATING THOSE BEANS!" as he stood up and stepped towards me. His foot slipped in the beans and he landed in them ass first. I couldn't help it, I giggled. Frank pulled himself to his feet and lunged. 

_Oh crap._

I rewound. Then I walked away from Frank, that had been legendary but clearly wasn't going to get me anywhere useful.

I awkwardly approached the Arcadia Bay PD officer, he was one of Joyce's long term regulars but I didn't really know him. He saw me from the corner of his eye and swiveled his bar stool around to face me. "There she is! Super Maxine!" He said enthusiastically. "I'm afraid that's your new nickname around the bay. You prevented something truly awful and you earned it. The whole department... everyone, is really proud of you for getting Kate down safely."

I felt my face going red. "Thank you Officer, I was just lucky and there at the right time."

"Well, I'm glad you're representing Blackwell Academy." He said.

I decided it was time to start probing for info. "Doesn't Nathan Prescott represent Blackwell?" I asked.

He lowered his voice. "Don't make me backwash this bacon. You know what the Prescotts represent." 

I felt much warmer towards him after that comment. "Taking over the town?" I asked.

"You're not wrong Max. I heard they were working on some new big land deals, Mr Prescott helped my family out once a long while ago... So I made a deal with him. And I can't seem to get out of it. Oh if I had one instant replay in life..." He shook his head wistfully "I'd better finish my breakfast." He said, turning back to his bacon looking deflated.

I decided that was all I was getting from him right now and moved down to talk to Nathan. He glanced at me. "Rachel?" He exclaimed. Then he looked at me properly. "Whateverthefuck." And turned away again.

"Uh... Nathan?" I said.

"Oh look, Max Amber." He sneered. "Nice outfit, by the way, thanks for getting me fucking expelled you twee bitch. You're lucky this is a public place."

"Yeah you're right, aside from all the people there's also a police officer over there so maybe you shouldn't advertise your rage." I said, keeping calm.

His eyed widened in mock amazement. "Really? Well maybe you shouldn't have bitch-snitched on me to that fucked up principal."

"Look, I'll take back everything if you... y'know.. hook me up with Frank." I said feeling smart at having come up with that angle.

"You don't look like you've ever even taken an aspirin." He said.

"How do you think I stay focused all night studying?" I asked. "So do we have a deal?"

"Shh, calm down. Yes, okay. Just go up to Frank and whisper 'higher education' he'll hook you up." He said before slouching with his back turned again.

I wanted to get more from Nathan so began to rewind to before I'd asked him about buying drugs. "-that fucked up principal." He said again.

I leaned in. "I hear your dad hired a local cop to keep an eye on you and whatever you're doing with Frank Bowers, like a babysitter."

He scoffed. "Bull. Bullshit. My dad doesn't hire, he owns. And these pigs know better than to narc on me." 

"I hope they do, otherwise Frank will get busted..." I said not sounding overly sincere.

"Whatever, he will be eventually. Dude's into some freaky shit. Like he once told me he took a weird blood oath for Rachel..." He froze and clenched a fist. "Uh... Forget I told you that. Seriously. Get off my crack, whore. Keep your mouth shut."

I ignored the way he was speaking to me and decided to mess with him, it might provide me with useful intel. I rewound yet again to the same point but this time I came in accusatory. 

"Weren't you supposed to keep your mouth shut about the blood oath Frank took for Rachel?" I asked scathingly.

He jumped. "Blood oath? Who-? What the fuck? I never told anybody about that freaky shit... Besides everybody knows Frank is a liar and a loser. Even Rachel did."

I smiled. "Yet she hung out with him more than you."

"So?" He spat. "Rachel wanted Frank's stash. She let him take pictures... Then he carries around her photo like she posed for love. Dumbass."

 _Thank you Nathan, that's about all I need from you right now._ I rewound to before I'd even started talking to him or the cop. Then I went back to the cop, I wanted to know more about his side gig for the Prescotts. I approached him and went through the same conversation about my act of heroism as before, then I interjected.

"Listen, I heard a rumour you were working for the Prescott family on the side..." I said cautiously. 

"Jesus..." He said nervously, looking around and running a hand over his stubbly receding hairline."Doesn't this town ever shut up?"

"I don't blame you for getting work, I just wondered." I said awkwardly.

"Look, sometimes I check up on the Prescott family to make sure they're doing alright... Nathan included. Keep this quiet please Max." He asked, and I nodded. 

I looked over at Frank who was still in the corner shoveling down his beans, _time to get those fucking RV keys._

I caught his eye as I approached. "What the fuck now?" He asked irritably. 

"Um..." I said, feeling dumb. "I was wondering if you had a... Uh, any... Higher education?"

"Wow. Oh yeah sure." Frank said sarcastically. "Did you want the 'After school special' with that? Jesus Christ, what crime dramas have you been watching? I work for a living not like you spoiled Blackwell dicks with too much time on your hands."

I was confused, I knew he was a dealer. "But?-"

"-But nothing." He interrupted. "don't ever ask me for jack shit ever again. Ever. Back off." His eyes darted to the cop at the bar.

His eyes were a giveaway, even if Nathan had set me up to look like an idiot with that 'higher education' tip, I had been a total dumbass to ask Frank in the middle of a diner in range of a police officer. This wasn't going to get me anywhere. I knew I had to rewind yet again.

I approached Frank yet again, this time I knew what my angle had to be to get some kind of reaction out of him that I could hopefully use for myself. "What the fuck now?" He demanded, again.

"You know... I saw that photo Rachel gave you." I told him.

"Wha... Oh, how'd you know about that? Chloe, right?" He said, setting down his spoon.

"Yeah." I said casually. "She just told me that one of Rachel's favourite pictures was the one she did for you."

A look I'd never seen before came over Frank's face. "Really?" He asked, sounding genuinely surprised and pleased and almost sad. He shook his head slightly and reverted back to his regular demeanor. "I mean yeah, that's what I thought. She was just a natural beauty you know. Wait... Wait, lemme find it, here you can judge for yourself." 

Frank began to pull crap out from his many pockets and put it on the table, I recognised some squished dog treats, empty plastic baggies, keys, and his wallet... 

_W_ _ait, keys?_

Frank started opening his wallet and taking out and smoothing out the picture for me but I was fixated on the keys a few inches from me on the table. I started trying to run through all the different ways I could take the keys and then I remembered that when I pick something up and then rewind, I keep it. Good job too or I'd probably leave my clothes behind each time and end up naked.

"Sorry Frank..." I said perkily and grabbed the keys right out from under his nose.

He jumped up. "You did not just do that! Give me my keys bitch! Don't fuck with me I'm warning you...-" Then I cut him off by rewinding to before any of our conversation.

I looked at Frank, eating beans, he glanced up at me surprised and confused, probably because he hadn't seen me walk this close to his table. I hoped he would chalk it up to a drug use related brain fart. I shuffled away nonchalantly and wondered how the weird rules of my power worked, had I just duplicated Frank's keys? Or were they now no longer in his pocket? I didn't think it mattered, if he busted us in the RV I could just rewind and get us out.

I exited the diner, realising that it must've looked like I walked straight in and out again without really doing anything. I spotted Alyssa from school standing by the bus stop near the diner parking lot, a large truck drove past and sprayed her with water from a nearby dirty puddle. This was another chance to do the right thing.

I approached her and rewound until the truck was a little way before us. "Alyssa, watch out!" I exclaimed although I'd just seen the oncoming vehicle and I pulled her back from the edge of the road with me. The water mostly missed us.

"Quick thinking, thanks Max." She grinned. I waved goodbye and went to join Chloe.

I approached Chloe and dangled the keys in the air in front of her upon which she broke into pretend applause. "I should have known, The Amazing SpiderMax would do it..."


	18. 3.8

"I've got something to deal with our canine problem." Said Chloe, she walked to the dumpster behind the diner and pulled out a large bone. "I found this while you were working your literal magic on Frank." She explained. 

"Okay, so if I open the door with the key, you need to throw the bone quickly." I instructed. "Throw it away from the road, to the other corner of the parking lot, and hopefully it'll be enough to distract him." I looked at Chloe hopefully.

"It'll be fine, it's a dog and a bone, what could go wrong?" Smirked Chloe.

I fumbled with Frank's keys and opened the dirty RV's door. The dog charged out of the doorway at me as I sprang to the side and he began staring me down.

"Here boy!" Said Chloe cheerfully. "Come and get the delicious dumpster bone..." 

The dog's head turned towards Chloe and he sniffed, his tail began to wag and he looked quite excited. "Go get it, good boy!" She said, throwing it across the parking lot. The dog raced after the bone and we jumped in the RV and pulled the door shut behind us. I let out a bit sigh of relief, my legs had gone slightly wobbly when that dog had been staring me down.

We looked around the RV, blinking in the gloom, the dirty windows didn't let much light in and the inside was exactly like you'd expect Frank's living space to be. A stale smell of socks, dog, and weed hung in the air.

"Damn. And I thought my room was a shithole." Said Chloe.

"You're not a creepy drug dealer." 

"Frank has issues but hes not creepy... At least I didn't think so until I saw him, with Rachel's bracelet." She wandered over to the large driver's seat and sat down. "Oh, we could cruise everywhere in this bad boy. Can you see us heading down the coast to Big Sur and beyond?"

"Yeah, we'd be tearing up the highway and you'd probably want me to kiss you again." I teased. "But Chloe, we don't have unlimited time here, we need to find clues about Rachel."

She spun the chair around to face me. "I know... Just daydreaming. Have a look around and I'll check his computer, I'll probably need to wash my eyeballs afterwards." She smirked.

I looked around his RV, the cupboards were dirty and some contained drug related stuff that was definitely illegal but none of it was gonna help us find Rachel. I sniggered when I found a whole shelf of tinned beans. _Does Frank eat anything else?_

That left only whatever was through the door at the back, I opened it and found Frank's bedroom. It was quite sparse, the bed took up most of the small space, I looked at the junk on the floor but there was nothing interesting. As I went to stand up I noticed a vent in the skirting board. If I was a drug dealer trying to hide something in this tiny RV, that is exactly the kind of place I would put things. I went and had a closer look and it was loose. I wondered if it was a coincidence or not and how to get it off. Eventually I found a kitchen knife and pried it off. I couldn't see anything so I stuck my hand in the gap and reached around until my fingers brushed something. I awkwardly gripped the thing between the tips of my index and middle fingers and began sliding it towards me, out came a small notebook. _Fuck yes._

Tucked into the first page were several loose items. I took the first out which was a photo of Rachel holding Frank's dog in her lap. They both looked happy and comfortable together. _Was it her dog too?_

I looked at the next one, it was a letter from Rachel to Frank.

**Frankie B**

**I hope you read this first thing in the morning. Sorry about last night. I was being a monstrous bitch and I took it out on you and Pompidou. There's a lot of weird shit going on in my life and sometimes I feel like I'm never going to get out of Arcadia Bay.**

**Thank God for you.**

**You're one of the best things I have here and I smile when I think of us together. Let's just drive out of here forever,**

**Love u always, RA.**

I looked at the letter, unsure of what to make of it. Was Rachel actually in love with Frank? Chloe swore that it was impossible. I tried to imagine Chloe being close with someone manipulative enough to write this kind of letter just to score drugs or a ride out of Arcadia Bay. That wasn't how Chloe had described her either. 

The next photo showed Frank with his arms around Rachel, they were both looking at the camera and smiling. Frank's hair and goatee were neat and clean looking and his happiness made him look younger and less rough than he had today. I turned to the next picture, Rachel was in her underwear dancing on the bed behind me, I moved on, it felt too intrusive to look at a missing girl I'd never met like that.

The next thing in the pile was another letter, this was one scrawled on an auto repair shop receipt. 

**Frank,**

**That was not cool what you did. And don't blame the drugs you actually** **scared me and I thought you'd never chill out, I've never seen you act that way, and the next time will be the last. I'm a leo and we don't look back. I care about you, us, so maybe we need to break our routine.**

**XO RA**

The last photo showed Rachel looking really happy, she was driving the RV and laughing. I'd never met Rachel but seeing her like that made me want to. There was something enchanting about her smile.

I sighed, I was going to have to show all of this to Chloe and it was going to crush her. But I couldn't lie to her too. Slowly I took the book with the photos and letters tucked into it and set it down next to Chloe, giving her shoulder a squeeze. 

She went quiet at first as she looked at the photos and letters and then spoke. "It makes me sick that Rachel posed like this for Frank... Or wrote him love letters... I can't believe they were fucking. Rachel straight up lied to my face! Why wouldn't she tell me?" She asked, close to tears.

"I suppose she knew how you'd react and she didn't want to hurt you." I said softly.

"Bullshit." She snapped. "Then she wasn't much of a friend, huh? just another person who shits on me. Why does everyone in my life let me down? My dad gets killed, you bail, my mom gloms onto step-fucker... Rachel... Betrays me."

I could see that getting angry with Chloe wouldn't work now so I spoke calmly. "Chloe, Rachel is missing, nobody betrayed you."

"Again, bullshit, who hasn't? You arguing against step-fucker for me once today doesn't change the fact that you, like everybody else, left me. When I really really needed someone." She turned the computer off, gathered up the notebook and its contents and walked out of the RV. 

"Chloe!" I called, as I legged it after her. Chloe shut the door behind us and then threw Frank's keys onto the roof of the diner, before silently heading towards her truck.

\---

We were driving away from the diner when I finally broke the silence. "Chloe..." I took a deep breath. "You can't keep blaming me and everybody for everything wrong in your life. It's really not fair."

"I gotta blame somebody. Otherwise it's all my fault, and fuck that." She said without glancing at me.

"It's just life, shit happens, it's nobody's fault. "Blah, blah, blah." As Mr. Jefferson would say, and Kate Marsh..."

She interrupted me. "Yes, Kate Marsh almost killed herself. Such sad, okay? But that doesn't make me feel any better to be brutally honest. Get it?"

I looked at her. "Chloe I don't get it, who do you want to blame?"

She shook her head. "My dad."

I knew she didn't mean it. "You blame William? Really?"

"Yes." She said bluntly. "Damn right. He chose to go out the door and leave me forever."

"Chloe, you don't really think that, he didn't choose to leave you." I said to her patiently.

She sighed. "Yes, I know that Max! My mom actually blames herself... Just because she wanted a ride home from work. Sometimes... Even I blame her."

"No you don't. You just need to lay blame somewhere, that's normal Chloe." I said.

We were at a red light and Chloe looked at me. "Yes Max, I do. Do you know what it's like to wait for your father to come home when you're a kid... and he never does?"

"No, of course not, but I was with you that day, it was just a terrible accident!" I said as we pulled off again, down the road to Blackwell.

"Well, I wish that made me feel better, but ever since he died, my life has been dipped in shit." She said with finality. 

I decided not to argue with her. "I can tell..." I agreed. "But look at everything that's happened the past week. Your life has changed mine, and that's not shit."

"I'd really love to believe that." She said as she parked the car. She kept her head turned so that her blue hair covered her face but I could hear her voice break. "I'd like to believe in something after what's happened."


	19. 3.9

Later, a while after Chloe had dropped me back at Blackwell, I remembered the photo Joyce had given me earlier. I took it out and smiled, but I felt a weird sense of disconnection between the happy, carefree children in the photo and who me and Chloe were as young adults. Especially with Chloe after how angry she'd been today. 

I was lost deep in thought staring at the photo when I distinctly heard Chloe's voice. "Get a close-up of Max!", before I could figure out what sounded wrong about her voice I heard another voice that made me drop the photo. My own.

"Knock it off Chloe!" I laughed back at her. Only I didn't, and these weren't our regular voices, these were the voices of 13 and 14 year old Max and Chloe in the photo, mine still giggly and childlike, and Chloe's more upbeat. I squinted at the photo, pretty sure nothing would surprise me anymore this week, but the photo Max and Chloe hadn't moved at all.

I picked up the photo and tried to recreate the sensation of staring at it while lost deep in thought about something else. It seemed impossible, I could only think about hearing our voices through the photo and what it might mean. I stared at it until my eyes blurred or rather the picture itself seemed to be blurring right before my eyes. I resisted the urge to blink and refocus my eyes and did my best to lean into this strange sensation.

Another voice echoed, an adult man's this time. "Yes, girls. Time for a picture." He said warmly. I felt a flutter of emotion in my chest as I realised who the voice belonged to - William, he was taking the photo.

"Cheesecake!" Shouted young Chloe.

"Come on now, say 'pancake'!" Said William in a goofy voice, and I heard myself laugh.

The lack of focus was starting to make me feel dizzy and I couldn't hold my eyes open any longer, so I gave in and blinked and focused on the photo. Pretty sure that in doing so I would end whatever was happening.

\---

The flash of a camera made me blink and I rubbed my face and looked around Joyce's kitchen. It looked weird but I couldn't figure out why.

"Someday dad will get one of them new computers." Said 14 year old Chloe excitedly to me as though we were mid-conversation about it. I blinked and looked down, I was wearing clothes I hadn't worn for years and a pair of shoes I didn't quite remember although the pink laces did stir up a vague memory of making my mom buy them for me. I glanced up at the microwave, noticing that like everything else, it was higher up than usual because I was lower down, and looked at the reflection in the glass door. I was me, but I was the me from the photograph I had just been looking at. I was 13 again.

"I hope the flash didn't scare you, Max. This is a keeper." Said William smiling. I stared at him dumbly. Oh William... 

"Yeah, I just... Uh... Yeah, I'm fine." I said as Chloe and William began debating whether or not the photo was good enough to keep by Chloe's standards.

I left them in the kitchen laughing and making pancakes as I backed into the living room. I thought about going to the bathroom or Chloe's room so they wouldn't see how freaked out I was but when I looked down the hall it's hard to describe what I could see, except to say I couldn't go there. It was like reality just ended in a swirling mass, void of all shape and filled with every colour and no colour at the same time. It reminded me of the description of The Nothing in The Neverending Story. The edge of reality, almost impossible to describe. It hurt my eyes to look at. I didn't dare go close or try to leave the kitchen and living room area. Was someone or something telling me that I had to do things the same as before? That I couldn't leave because that would change history because 5 years ago I spent the whole afternoon here with Chloe? Or was I simply confined to the immediate vicinity of the photograph?

I decided I didn't mind, I knew what day this was and there had to be a way to stop William leaving and dying from within these two rooms. Things were not going to play out the same as before. Even if I had to relive the next 5 years of my life again, William would live and Chloe would be happy. I went into the kitchen and touched William on the shoulder. He turned and smiled.

I improvised. "Uh, Mr. Price, in case you're thinking about using your car... I heard there's awful traffic... And road constructions. So you shouldn't drive at all."

"Max, I can see you're very concerned." He gave me a reassuring look. "I promise, if I have to go anywhere I'll drive like I'm taking a test. Alright?"

I panicked. "Not really... I just know the roads are really bad and stuff, so... so you-"

"Max I feel safer already with your heads up, thank you for that, don't look so worried." And he started cooking again.

I went back to the living room and tested my rewind, making a fly move back across the room. I had no idea what to do yet, I felt like I should remember every second of this afternoon with crystal clarity but I didn't. We hadn't known that William was going out to die, we had spent the afternoon playing together until Joyce turned up and told us his car had been hit by a truck. This morning had been uneventful, and it had happened 5 years ago. I knew William was going to decide to go out in the car to get Joyce from work, adult Chloe had said so herself, but he didn't usually do that, that much I could remember. 

I jumped when the phone rang and William picked up. "Hello? ... "Hey Honey! The three of us are just making a fabulous breakfast, then we'll all head over to the Two Whales ... What? I didn't know you had to get groceries. No, yeah of course I will ... It's no problem, I'll come and pick you up, now I have an excuse to get a mocha ... Be there shortly, love you."

Now I remember why he went out. I have to stop him taking the car today.

I rewound to before the phone had rang and lingered by it. When I did, I grabbed it quickly and said "Sorry, wrong number." And went to put it down again. Unfortunately William was already there beside me giving me a strange look as he took the phone from my hand.

"Max, come on, you know better than that..." He answered it. "Hello? Yeah no, Max was being silly... What's up?"

I rewound again. This time I made sure William wasn't looking and I unplugged the phone. About a minute and a half later William's cell phone rang. I almost screamed, I had achieved nothing. He had virtually the same conversation with Joyce, except for acknowledging it was weird the home phone didn't ring. Then he turned to us.

"Excuse me ladies, this breakfast is pretty much ready but you'll have to feast upon it without me, I have to rescue yonder queen at the supermarket. She doth have many bags of delicious grub for us to feast upon this evening." He said flamboyantly.

"You are ridiculous!" Said Chloe laughing.

William laughed too. "You'll be grateful for that someday. Shit, where did I leave the keys?"

"That's a dollar for the swear jar!" Yelled Chloe.

"You mean your college fund!" Said William who was sifting though the junk on the coffee table. "Help me please... Wait, I've got them. Alright, tidy up after breakfast please, play nice, try not to destroy too much of the house." He began to walk away and turned back, "And no more and Max and Chloe wine tasting session..."

"Daaad!" Said Chloe.

"Don't blow it because tonight your mother promised to make us her famous salmon surprise with chocolate cake for dessert. Max, you'll be here right?" He asked me but I couldn't speak.

"She's never leaving!" Said Chloe.

I rewound before I started crying. I went back as far as I could to give me time to act before they started looking for the keys.

I took the keys from the coffee table and tried to find a place that looked like William would never find them. I figured if they were in the living room or kitchen he'd find them so I did the only thing I could think of and wandered near the kitchen window. When the phone in the hall between the living room and kitchen rang, William left and I hurled the keys out as far as I could get them. I assumed they'd be hidden in the long grass, all I could see out of the window was the swirly nothingness. 

William finished his phone call and addressed us again before looking for his keys. After some time we were all searching the living room for them.

"Aha!" Said William and he strode to his desk and took out a small device with a button on it and started pressing it while pointing it around the room. "I forgot I had this key locator, release the keys!" I held my breath expecting to hear a faint beep from the keyring in the garden and have some explaining to do. But luckily it seemed to be out of range. "Of course..." Said William dejectedly, "last time I order from SpyGuy Electronics..."

"You can take the bus, right? The stop is just down the street!" I informed him enthusiastically.

He sighed and smiled at me. "This I can do. Good call Max."

I couldn't believe it, had I done it? "Oh yeah, the bus is great! It comes every 15 minutes and there'll be plenty of room for you and Joyce and the groceries and it helps save the environment..."

He cut me off. "You had me sold already, I'm off to the bus stop. Joyce will love this." He waved to me and to Chloe who was standing in the doorway of the kitchen and left.

I didn't know how to react, I had no idea what was going to happen now, but I was pretty sure William and Joyce would both be coming home alive and well on the bus. How was I getting back home to 2013, could I?

"Max!" Called Chloe, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You are being so fucking strange. Are you feeling okay?"

I grabbed her hands and literally jumped for joy. "Chloe, I'm awesome! We are awesome!"

Around my third jump things started to get foggy and I started to feel like I was going to pass out. I caught one last look at Chloe's confused 14 year old face before everything faded to black.


	20. 3. Epilogue

The first thing I noticed was that the light was different. I squinted as a low beam of sunlight hit me in the face and I blinked and looked around, noticing the feel of grass underneath me and between my fingers. I was at Blackwell on the lawn and it was sunset. I looked at the people around me, I saw a lot of people I knew but I didn't know what we were doing here together, I didn't even know what all their names were.

Slowly I became aware of snippets of their conversation. "You are such a ho, I knew you'd hook up with that loser!" Someone across from me said, I didn't know who it was.

Another conversation was happening to my left. "I heard that the Vortex club party is gonna be wild!" Said Zachary, or was that Logan?

I was starting to feel less foggy but no less confused, I noticed the girls sitting nearest me were Victoria, Taylor, and Courtney. Taylor was speaking, "All my friends in LA told me that Oregon was gonna be wet and cold every day but it's like 75 degrees and I haven't seen the rain once since I got here. Is that climate change?" 

"No." Answered Courtney, "It's people in Oregon trying to keep Californians out."

I still had no idea why I seemed to be in this conversation.

"Helloooooo? Are you even listening Maxine?" Asked Victoria, leaning into my face.

I shook my head, taken aback. "Max, never Maxine."

"I know." She whined. "Sorry Max, you're not pissed a me, right? Right? We could go hit the girl's potty and smoke a peace pipe." 

I didn't know what to say. "I think Max is already high." Said Courtney for me.

"She's acting, like, so weird. You cool Max?" Asked Taylor.

I started to gather my things. The girls were arguing between themselves now. "Nobody listened when I said we shouldn't let her in the Vortex." Said Courtney.

"Courtney you don't want anyone in the club." Said Taylor.

"Like, bitch, whatever." retorted Courtney taking out her phone and starting to text someone with it held up so she wouldn't have to talk.

I walked away from them. I heard Victoria call after me but I didn't want to deal with her. I felt relief when I saw Warren's familiar friendly face by the main entrance to the grounds until I saw he was holding hands with Stella.

I started to run past them towards the bus stop. _This is totally fucked up, what else have I changed... Chloe?_

I waited anxiously for the bus and had to stop myself exclaiming out loud when it pulled up and the door opened and I saw David Madsen in the drivers seat. He looked at me blankly and bored without any flicker of recognition as I stepped on board.

As we drove past the beach the bus came to a stop near the diner and everyone ran to the windows and began talking, I looked, 3 enormous whales were lying still on the beach. _Did I cause that?_

I stayed on the bus a while longer and then got off at the stop nearest Chloe's house and half ran all the way to her door. I raised my hand to knock and then froze. _What if William was still dead and I fucked things up for nothing?_ No. It didn't bear thinking about. I swallowed and knocked. William opened the door.

"Max Caulfield! Taking a break after taking Seattle by Storm, huh? We thought we'd never see you after you left for the big city." I wanted to cry or hug him but instead I managed to answer.

"No... I'd never do that to Chloe."

He smiled faintly, "Speaking of... I know she's been dying to see you, hold on." He turned towards the house and called along the corridor. "Chloe, you have a visitor!"

As he stood to one side I had to grab the door frame and cover my mouth in shock as Chloe appeared at the end of the hall in a wheelchair. She was draped in blankets, had a tracheostomy tube attached to her neck, and a strap holding her up into the chair which edged towards me on motorized wheels. She seemed to not only have been stripped of her ability to move but of everything that had made her Chloe; her blue hair, tattoos, piercings, and fashion were gone. She got closer and gave me a smile as if to say 'Yep, everyone reacts like that.' And suddenly she seemed slightly more like herself.


	21. 4.1

I walked slowly along the path, keeping in time with Chloe's motorized wheels on her chair until we reached the top of the beach and stopped at the edge of the sand. Chloe couldn't go any further so we stayed there and looked at the view, it was simultaneously ugly and beautiful. The sun was setting over the sea and if you turned your head just right everything looked normal, but the three looming corpses of the dead whales on the beach were unavoidable and cast long shadows over the sand as well as a lingering smell of decay.

Chloe broke the silence,"It's weird hanging out with you again." She said.

"I know..." I replied, I had spent the last three days trying to make up for leaving Chloe and now I had to do it again. "I'm glad that we are though." I added.

"It was nice that you sent me actual letters though, that's more than any of my other friends have done. You even wrote on that cool parchment paper. That's so Max" She said with a small smile.

I remembered that stationery set, my dad had bought it for me in a gift shop in Seattle in my timeline too, I was pleased to hear what the me in this timeline had used it for. "So pretentious..." I laughed. "But I love writing on it, like an English poet or something, plus you deserve the best stationery."

Chloe looked away slightly. "It's probably easier to write than to visit me." She said. "I don't mean that in a bitchy way... Not totally. You probably just wanted to avoid awkward conversations like this."

"Um..." I shifted. "Pretty much, yeah." I admitted, looking at a small stone between my feet.

"Look, the worst thing you can do is treat me like a baby. I still want to laugh and talk shit with my best friend. Can we stop? This is seriously the best view of the sunset, what do photographers call that?" She asked.

"The golden hour." I said, looking up from my feet.

"See, without you here I wouldn't know shit. I bet you could take some amazing shots... Those beached whales are so sad. I kind of know how they feel, but hey at least I'm alive." Said Chloe.

"You're a real survivor Chloe, I know you deal with so much." I told her.

"I don't want anyone else feeling sorry for me. I can do that, along with my parents. My dad still blames himself for buying me that car." She said and started to wheel further along the concrete promenade, I followed her. 

"Are you okay to talk about the accident?" I asked.

Chloe made a soft noise of realisation like "Huh." And stopped moving and looked at me. "We never actually have, have we? Well there's nothing much to say, some prick in an SUV cut me off and I flew into a ditch."

"Do you... remember everything?" I asked hesitantly.

"I saw everything in bullet time. I felt my back snap and..." She stopped and looked like she was trying to catch her breath before starting again. "And that was the last thing I ever felt in my body. When I woke up in the hospital I literally couldn't move a muscle."

"Jesus... I don't know what to say." 

"You don't need to say anything, I'm just happy I get to see you again. I could have died or vanished out of the blue like that girl from Blackwell." She said to me sincerely.

"Do you mean Rachel Amber?" I asked. "When was the last time you talked to her?"

She looked at me weirdly. "Uh, never. I just read about it on the news, I didn't even know her name, you did?"

"Yeah, I mean... Same school and stuff..." I changed the subject. "This is such a different world to when we were kids, isn't it?"

Chloe laughed softly. "After that snow and eclipse, it's more like the end of the world."

"Do you think so? I haven't kept up with the details..." I lied.

"I have more time on my hands than you... Plus I'm a science nerd. Not that any of this makes sense scientifically." She said staring at the whales.

"I know, things seem really out of control, but I feel a bit less overwhelmed now we're back together again." I said truthfully.

"hanging out with you makes me feel like I'm 12 again, you don't even know..." She smiled.

I looked her in the eye. "Listen Chloe, I'm sorry I haven't been out to see you more. That was wrong. You're my best friend."

"Max, thanks for coming out to see me, you're... you're doing awesome by the way. But um... My nose is getting cold so maybe we should go back to my place." She said and started to wheel back the way we came.

"yeah, it is hella cold out here." I agreed.

She gave me an odd look. "Hella? I hate that word, no offense."

"None taken." I swallowed a lump in my throat.

\---

When we got home Chloe lead me to her new room, the Price family had completely converted their garage and it looked nothing like the semi-bunker David had kept it as where I'd once snooped on him in a different reality. Chloe's room was designed to make everything accessible and as easy as possible for her to use. Her bed looked like a hospital bed because it adjusted so she could be propped into any position she needed. Around it was enough space for her chair to move to every part of the room and reach the newly installed en suite bathroom and a computer that was connected to a mouth mouse that allowed Chloe to use it with her mouth and breath, similar to her chair controls. 

"Now this is a pretty high-tech lair!" I said, taking it all in, as Joyce left the room after helping Chloe into her bed. In a way this room totally suited every version of Chloe, she loves science and technology in every reality, in another way the clean emptiness of it felt nothing like her. I wanted to be surrounded by the colours of the posters and graffiti in her old room coupled with the faint smell of cigarettes and marijuana. This room felt too sterile. I could picture Joyce and William constantly cleaning and tidying it around her, stripping her of the privacy and freedom she once had to do whatever she wanted with her room.

"It feels like a high-tech cell." Said Chloe, interrupting my thoughts. "But I am lucky my parents bust their asses to take care of me, I know it's hard for them."

I shook my head. "They're grateful you're here with them." 

"Max, they've got no lives of their own now. Sometimes I act like a total teenage brat just to give them an excuse to yell at me. Pathetic, I know." She said, looking a bit embarrassed to have told me that.

I hated that she was feeling like this. "Chloe, you're a great daughter. You're kind and sensitive, when you don't even have to be. I bet I'd be pissed off a lot if I was in your situation."

She smiled a small Chloe smile. "Trust me, I still get my rage on." Her voice croaked a bit. "Especially when a nurse has to watch while I take a dump so she can wipe my bum."

"I can't even imagine..." I told her, once again at a loss for the right thing to say. "But, you're still amazing, you have been since we were kids."

She smiled again. "Thanks for coming Max. I need some water, can you bring me that cup from the nightstand."

I nodded and held the cup with a straw up for her to drink. "Oh man, no wonder my throat is dry." She said. "I don't think I've talked this much the whole year."

"Have you thought about doing a podcast or something?" I asked.

She laughed. "Oh I wish I could punch your face right now. A podcast? Dude, I am a pod in a cast. Boring."

"Well it was just a thought..." I said quietly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part is a little short and ends a little abruptly, apologies for that, I've been busy and wanted to put what I had out there. If you get this far why not leave a kudos to tell me to keep writing.


	22. 4.2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for some generally upsetting and heavy themes in this part.

"What do you remember about us as kids?" I asked Chloe.

"I spend a lot of time remembering us as pirates, running and jumping our way around Arcadia Bay, too cool to care what anyone thought or to need anyone else." She said with a faint smile.

"Those were the days... But you actually were and are cool Chloe, you did have other friends didn't you?" I asked.

"Not really, why do you think we were together pretty much 100% of the time? Neither of us had other friends. I met a few people at Blackwell after you left, but as you can see, I can't keep them away now." She said rolling her eyes.

"Who from Blackwell did you hang out with?" I asked. 

"Mostly my friend Steph Gingrich, she was great but my accident was too much for her really, I don't blame her. She got a college scholarship this year and left so I guess your paths never crossed, we've lost touch now anyway." Said Chloe slightly sadly.

"I know I wasn't around much either... I'm sorry, I'm trying to make things right." I said, wondering what on earth I was supposed to do to make that happen and at what cost.

Chloe laughed a little. "How? You're not Super Max, and I'm not trying to guilt-trip you. I can get enough weird emotional baggage from my parents." 

"How are they?" I asked. "I mean, are they still happy together and everything?"

"Yeah, I guess they're good considering what they deal with. They laugh and hold hands..."She said. " But the accident has been so hard on them, our insurance sucks and the medical bills are fucking insane."

"I can imagine, this tech must be expensive..." I said looking around the room.

"Yeah, along with the drugs, the nurses, the supplies... Mom and Dad are always broke and they get so frustrated. Is it even worth it?" She asked quietly, unable to make eye contact.

"Chloe you're priceless!" I said quickly. "Uh, no pun intended."

She laughed a little bit. "It would be great to stop all this heavy stuff and just chill out together and watch a movie, like when we used to have sleepovers. Do you want to watch Blade Runner? I always cry at the end, plus you know I wanted to have cool coloured bangs like Pris."

"You would look incredible with blue hair." I told her truthfully. "Tell me where the DVDs are and I'll sort it."

\---

I opened my eyes, feeling the stiffness in my back from falling asleep in a chair next to Chloe's bed while leaning my head on the edge of her bed. I was definitely not as bendy as I was when we used to dangle off of climbing frames and play pirates. I looked up at Chloe. "I cannot believe you fell asleep before me last night. You always did that when we were kids as well." I said sleepily.

"Blade Runner is a pretty dreamy movie to watch at night. Do you think Deckard is a replicant... Sorry, I can see you're not wide awake like me." She said, as I straightened up in the chair again.

"No, I'm sorry, I crashed hard. Were you... Okay?" I asked.

"Yes, I have a mother and father you know, for when you're falling asleep on me." She laughed.

"Alright, you're bitchy in the morning." I teased.

"It's the company I keep... Yesterday was such a blast." She said smiling faintly.

"It was, and it was great seeing you." I said.

"I know things were different when we were just dorky kids, but being with you made me feel like we were little pirates, jumping and running through forests again. It meant a lot to me to just chill with you and bullshit..." She closed her eyes. "Ahh fuck, I'm getting my regular head pains... Uh, can you pretty please go upstairs and get my morphine injector in the bathroom?" she asked.

"Morphine injector?" I asked, a little bit alarmed.

"It's total Star Trek shit, you can't even see the needle. Seriously I need it. Um, my parents keep the swag upstairs, probably in the bathroom. I can't get it but you can, like a pirate, right?" She asked.

"Of course, I'll be right back." I said. 

I exited Chloe's room and said good morning to William who appeared to be going through a stack of bills at the breakfast table, before continuing on to the upstairs. I peeped into Chloe's old room, most of her stuff was boxed up against one wall although there were still traces of her having occupied the room left everywhere. It didn't look like the Prices were using the room for anything. I closed the door sadly and carried on into the bathroom where I found a box of Chloe's medical supplies and identified the morphine injector. _Never thought I'd be delivering morphine to my best friend._ I returned to Chloe and showed it to her to confirm it was the right one.

"Yep, go ahead and plug it right into the IV. It's super easy." She told me.

"Okay." I said. "But get ready to yell for your folks if I screw up." I said as I quickly read the instructions on the injector's packaging, it seemed straightforward, and then plugged it in.

"Trust me I would, but it's fine. My pain just keeps getting worse, luckily you've caught me on a good day and I'm grateful for that and being able to hang out with you..." She smiled. "See, I'm getting mushy, that stuff acts fast."

"Can I get you anything else?" I asked her.

"Um, stop me if I'm being too emo, but can you grab one of the photo albums over there to the left of the TV? I'd love to look at some old photos of when we were kids." She requested.

"My diary is like emo ground zero." I assured her. "Plus Max Caulfield does not pass up a photo op with Chloe Price. Ever."

I grabbed one of the albums on the end of the shelf, it looked vaguely familiar, I think it was an old one William had worked on since before the time of his death in my timeline. I opened it to the first page and placed it carefully in Chloe's lap. "Is that okay?" I asked, gesturing to the placement of the book.

"Perfect. Oh my god, look how little we are there! We look like toys!" She said, looking at the first photo.

"I remember that day by the lighthouse..." I said.

"My dad ended up pissed at us, he actually tried to give us a time out!" Snorted Chloe.

"Yeah and you just laughed at him. My dad would have banished me..." I laughed.

I continued turning the pages as we reminisced over our pirate phase and dorky outfits. I turned onto one of the last pages and saw an all too familiar photo of me and Chloe in the kitchen.

"Oh man, there we are making pancakes. I love that shot of us. It's hard to believe my dad took that picture only five years ago." She said, still happy.

"Literally seems like yesterday..." I said, trying not to give anything away in my voice.

"I wish it was..." She said.

_This photo... Maybe I could... Should I?_

Chloe looked at me from the corner of her eye trying to catch my gaze. "Listen, Max." She began. "My respiratory system is failing... And it's only getting worse. I've heard the doctors talking about it when they thought I was zonked out. So I know I'm just putting off the inevitable, while my parents suffer along. And so do I. This isn't how I want things to end."

My thoughts were interrupted by a sick heavy feeling. "What?" I asked. "Chloe, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that being with you again has been so special. I just wanted to feel like when we were kids running around Arcadia Bay and everything was possible... And you made me feel that way again. I want this time with you to be my last memory. Do you understand?" She said, her voice becoming croaky with prolonged talking. 

"Yes... Maybe. What are you asking of me?" My voice had suddenly become croaky too. 

"All you would have to do is crank the number on that IV up to eleven..." She said, looking me straight in the eye.

I had no idea what to say, if Chloe died I couldn't let this timeline play out. If Chloe was dying I couldn't either. But did I have it in me to do that for this version of her before I left?

"Chloe I... I really don't know if I can do this. I had another friend who wanted to end it all and I did everything I could to try and save her life. How can I be responsible for ending yours? I mean, there's got to be another way..." I said.

"Max I'm already dying from my illness, slowly. All I'm asking you to do is speed things up, not kill me. And it sounds like you were there for your friend no matter what, now I'm asking you to help me the same way." She said, her eyes pleading with me.

"You have no idea how much I want to help you Chloe, but I think that my help is hurting..." I imagined trying to explain things to her, but that was out of the question, this Chloe had never contemplated time travel or her dad dying.

"At least you have a choice about what you do. When you want to make a decision, you can just do it. Look at me, I'm at the mercy of... Everybody. For once, I want to make my own choice. The most important one of my life. Please... Help me, Max." She begged.

"Chloe..." I began, but my voice choked up, I nodded.

"I'll just drift asleep, dreaming of us having this great time here together... Forever." She whispered.

I stood up on wobbly legs and turned up the IV before sinking into the chair again.

"Thank you so much. I'm proud of you for following your dreams. Don't forget about me." She said quietly.

"Never." I promised.

"I love you Max. See you around." She mumbled and her eyes closed.

"Sooner than you think." I promised again as I blinked away tears blurring my eyes.

_I'm sorry, William._

It took me a long time to get the right focus on the photo because my eyes kept filling with tears and I was panicky, _what if I couldn't do it this time?_ When I finally was stood as my 13 year old self again blinking in the camera flash I felt like I was about to burst into tears, but I couldn't, I had to act normally and let William leave.

I felt like I was hearing everything simultaneously from really far away and in slow motion while William and Chloe carried on normally around me like they had each time I had seen this scene. I watched William answer the phone.

"Hello? Hey honey... What? Oh, I didn't know you had to get groceries. Of course I'll come pick you up." He said.

William and Chloe began their search for his car keys. I made my legs obey me even though they felt like blocks of concrete and made myself walk over and pick up the photo William just took. I looked at it. I couldn't let what had happened ever happen again, by this evening the photo would be long forgotten. I crossed to the fireplace and dropped it into the flames just as William found his keys under the hat on the coffee table. 

William was leaving. "-And no Max and Chloe wine tasting sessions..." He nagged without being serious.

"Daaad!" Protested Chloe.

"Don't blow it because your mother promised to make her world-famous salmon surprise with chocolate cake for dessert. Max you'll be here too, right?" He asked me.

"She's never leaving me!" Answered Chloe for me.

"That makes all of us." Said William, winking at Chloe and walking towards the door.

I couldn't take any more and I sunk to the ground with my head in my hands, fighting the urge to sob.

"Max?" Said Chloe, her concerned face appearing close to mine. "You are being so fucking strange, like you're never going to see us again..."

"Chloe, I'm so sorry... I tried to make things different for you, I did try, I'm sorry." I said, knowing I wasn't making any sense.

Chloe tugged at my hands, wanting me to get to my feet. "I don't know what you're talking about, but come on, you have made things different. Like my whole life. You're my best friend, what's to be sorry for? We'll be pirates forever and when we grow up we're taking over the world." She said earnestly.

The colourless haze at the edge of the scene that appeared when I traveled into photos was closing in around me and I was feeling faint. So I spoke quickly without getting up from the floor. "Listen, whatever happens, I want you to be strong. Even if you feel like I wasn't there for you... Because I will never abandon you Chloe. I'll always have your back. Always." I promised her as everything faded.


	23. 4.3

I blinked, focusing on the reassuringly familiar view of Chloe's bedroom, which looked like Chloe's bedroom again and not the storage room it had been last time I'd seen it. I looked around the room feeling disorientated, I noticed a massive wooden board from the back of the garden had been dragged in here, me and Chloe had once painted a pirate mural on it a long time ago, now it seemed to be in use as a notice board for our investigation. Then I saw Chloe, slightly hunched at her laptop besides an overflowing ashtray and piles of desk clutter. I jumped up and half fell onto her giving her an awkward hug over the back of her chair.

"Woah! Down Max! Honestly, you get one kiss and now you're all over me..." She said, looking entertained and confused by my actions.

I composed myself. "I'm just... Just so glad you're here." I said.

She looked at me weirdly. "You sound high, but thanks for the morning grope. Since we were up all night playing CSI: Arcadia Bay, I was spaced out. But I'm trying to put all this info together." I sat down on the edge of her bed and tried and failed not to look lost. "Max? Did you forget we've gone over this? I hope you weren't messing around with time while I was sleeping." She said.

"Uh, no..." I said. "I'm just spaced out too. I'm going to go and look at the board." I didn't think I could ever tell Chloe about what happened so I needed to put it out of my mind and see what was happening here.

I spent a while looking at all the various photos, bits of paper, the logbook and other stuff we'd found over the last few days and tried to find a pattern. Eventually I began to see a starting point. 

"Chloe." I called out. "I think we have to do 3 main things."

"Right... Uh... What things?" She laughed.

"Number one, decipher Frank's logbook. Two, somehow get a hold of Nathan's phone so we can see where he's been during vortex club parties with Rachel and Kate, plus see any hidden shit in his messages..." I began.

"Three, beat step-douche down until he tells us stuff about Frank, Nathan, and whatever the Dark Room is." Finished Chloe for me.

"We need to be sensible about this." I warned her.

"Oh come on, at least let me kick his ass and then rewind... Fine, it's your power."

"Yeah, it is." I agreed. "And I can't waste it on shit like that."

She nodded concedingly. "At least you agreed to take that money to pay Frank off."

I shook my head. "Don't remind me, I'm still worried that there's a small chance that was legitimate money. But we need him off your back, off our backs, I pointed a gun at him..."

"I know." Said Chloe. "Why don't you go down to the garage again and see if there's any more dirt of Step Shit's you can dig up, seeing as you can always cover your tracks. I'll cyberstalk some more names and see where that leads. And be careful with him, he's coming back for his stuff today, I'd rewind out of any confrontation, he's not going to be happy if he sees you after what went down yesterday and Mom giving him the boot."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan." I said.

Chloe turned in her desk chair and energetically slid it back towards the desk, I watched the wheels slide across the floor by her feet and was immediately reminded of the image of the front wheels of her wheelchair. I knew I couldn't keep abusing that level of my rewind power, it was way too dangerous. I had to navigate the present without messing up the past. I left the room feeling shaky.

\---

When I reached the bottom of the stairs David was standing right there by the front door, there was no point rewinding this one, he was unavoidable. He was standing by a suitcase and actually looked sad enough that I felt a bit sorry for him, he saw me straight away.

"You won this battle, Max. You broke up my family. I salute you." He said as I approached him.

"David, I didn't try to hurt you, ever. But I won't let anybody hurt Chloe." I said, as much to remind myself why I did what I did. 

"Too late isn't it? You just better be damn careful with her. Don't you wander off into the dark again." He said quietly, and picked up his suitcase and left before I could think of an answer.

I went into the garage and wondered what I hadn't looked at yet, the only thing seemed to be a locker behind where David's car had been. It had a padlock on it and required a code. I thought about snooping around and trying to crack the code but then I realised I was in a fully stocked garage, I would be able to find something to break either the padlock or the door and then rewind afterwards. I looked around and settled on a large flathead screwdriver which I forced behind the door about two thirds of the way up and began to pry it open. The thin metal door was quite flimsy and bent open but the large padlock didn't give. I decided that didn't matter as the gap was large enough for my hand and I reached in and pulled out the contents which appeared to be maps, notes, coordinates, and photos of students. Perfect. Creepy, but it would hopefully provide some clues. I kept hold of them while I rewound until the locker was back to how it was.

I went back to the bottom of the stairs where I'd run into David, and called up to Chloe. "Chloe, are you ready yet? We have to go now or I'll be late back to the dorm!"

Chloe appeared and hopped down the stairs two at a time towards me. "Are we happy?" She asked.

"Very happy." I told her. "I hit the secret file jackpot in that locker of his, there's stuff here here on Kate, Nathan, and Rachel. Plus, location coordinates. David is a one-man surveillance army and it's disturbing. Let's get the hell out of here, I absolutely need to go and see Kate at the hospital first, I want to find out how she's doing."


	24. 4.4

As we approached Kate's hospital room Chloe stopped me. "I was a total dick for blowing a fuse when you answered Kate's call the other day. Good thing you ignored me. I had no idea what shit she was going through, and you saved her, like you did with me... I'm sorry."

"Thank you. It's okay. We're all on the same team." I reassured her.

"Yeah, team Max. Let Kate know we're gonna string Nathan up by his balls. I'll wait out here so you two can chill by yourselves." She gave me a small reassuring smile.

I knocked on Kate's door and entered, unsure of what I'd find on the other side. To my relief and pleasure, Kate was sat up in a chair by the window, drawing, and seemed brighter than she'd been in a long time. 

"Max!" She exclaimed when she saw me and beamed.

"Oh, Kate..." I said, unsure of what to say.

"I thought I'd never see you again. I feel so ridiculous, I'm so sorry." She said, her smile faltering.

"Kate, you have nothing to be sorry for. Other people do. You have no idea how happy I am to see you, you look awesome... Is it a dumb question if I ask you how you're doing?" I asked tentatively. 

"I'm doing better, more so now that you're here. I'm so grateful to you for coming up to that roof and talking me down. I thought I was completely alone in the world until I saw how much you cared about me, how hard you were trying for me... Thank you." She said earnestly.

"Kate, there are so many people who love you and want to help you." I said, truthfully. 

"I know, you should see all these letters and postcards." She gestured to the windowsill which was piled high. "I gave most of the flowers to other patients here because they need them more than me, I'm keeping the balloons though. One of the nurses gave me some pen and paper so I could do some drawings." She pointed at her colourful work in progress. 

"I love your illustrations, I'm so glad you're doing them now." I said, taking a look at the pages on the table.

"They got kind of dark for a while, but I came up with a new character called Jesse Palmer, she's for a children's book about bullying... I was thinking about having some photographs in there too." She explained.

I smiled. "I hope that's a subtle hint that you'll let me take photographs for the book."

"Was that subtle?" She laughed. "You'd better take the pictures, Max."

I noticed some cards from her family. "How are things with your family?" I asked.

"I'm going to be here for another day until my family comes out to visit, they're acting crazy on the phone like they need to protect me forever. They're so upset and I know they feel guilty, even though they didn't do anything. I was surprised how many people wrote to me from Blackwell too; Daniel, Mr Jefferson... Even Victoria wrote me a very sweet note."

"That's really nice of them, hey speaking of Blackwell, I got Nathan suspended." I told her. 

"Oh wow Max, I love how fearless you are." She said grinning. 

"We're close to getting all the info we need about him." I explained.

"Nathan Prescott needs to pay for what he did, and we have to stop him from hurting anybody else. What's going on with him now?" Asked Kate, showing more determination than I had seen from her before. 

"I assume he will just show up at the Vortex Club party tonight like nothing happened. But we're going to stop him, I just have to find Nathan's room number, get inside and get the clues I need." I said, wondering if I could really do it as I said it out loud.

Kate perked up in her seat. "Ooh, Max, please let me help! I can get the number and text it to you. I'm hardly doing anything else in here."

I didn't want Kate getting into any trouble but she seemed confident. "Sure, that would be really helpful." I told her. 

"Now it's time for Nathan to watch out." She said, determined.

\---

After leaving the hospital, Chloe pulled into the Blackwell parking lot so we could go and find Nathan's dorm. We walked towards the dormitory building and crossed paths with Mr Jefferson.

"Oh, hi, Mr Jefferson. This is my friend Chloe." I said and gestured awkwardly.

"Yo." Said Chloe.

"Chloe..." He said. "Why isn't someone as cool as you going to Blackwell?" He asked.

She smirked. "I was way too cool for this school. It's a long story... In actual files here..."

Jefferson nodded. "I see. Max, are you alright?"

I tried not to look like I was just about to break into a gun wielding student's dorm. "Yeah. It's just weird being on campus, like everything's normal."

"I know." He said, and paused for thought. "Lame as it sounds, life has to go on." He added. I nodded. "On that note, duty calls. Remember, I'm going to announce the winner of the Everyday Heroes competition tonight at the party, I hope you'll both be there to celebrate. Even though I am sorry you didn't enter a photo, I'm sure you had your reasons, you can't force an artist to work."

I shook my head. "It's just been a hard week to focus."

"I'm proud of you for caring so much about a troubled friend, and I take hope in the fact you still have plenty of time to find your way. Just try to get in the habit of putting your work out there." He said and smiled.

"Thank you Mr Jefferson, I'll definitely be there tonight." I said.

"Me too." Chimed in Chloe. "I'll be Max's date. You better dance with us at least once." She laughed.

"Nobody should have to see me dance. Plus you don'y want to have to watch the old hipster trying to keep up with the kids... I do have some pride. I'll see you." He said, staring to leave.

"Yes, you will." Said Chloe staring after him. "Hot for teacher..." She whispered to me. 

"Gross! You are out of control." I giggled.

"Not yet, wait until the rager tonight." She snorted.

I rolled my eyes. "Ugh, shut up." I said as I started to walk down the path again.

She followed behind me. "Don't be jealous because Mark Jefferson thinks I'm cool..."

I skipped ahead a couple of paces in a pretend huff. "I am so ignoring you." I called back as we approached the dormitory garden. 

"Fine." She said and caught up with me. "Since I'm here, I'll see if I can get some dirt from Justin. I haven't talked to him in a while..."

"Okay, that's a good plan, I'll try and establish that Nathan is definitely not in his dorm before we go in there." I said, and we both headed into the garden in front of the dorms.


	25. 4.5

I walked around the grounds in front of the dorms and spoke to a few people, most weren't sure where Nathan was, but those who had seen him recently said they thought they'd seen him storm off and leave school property a little while ago. This was a pretty regular occurrence even when he wasn't angry about getting suspended. I decided to go and see if Chloe wanted to trust he was gone and risk going into his room, so I approached her and Justin. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and high fived Justin before coming to me. 

"The coast is probably clear, people saw him leave a little while ago. What did Justin say?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing helpful, he wanted to know if I'd heard anything about Rachel and then he mostly just talked about weed. I'm happy to give Nathan's dorm a go if he's probably not here." She said. 

So we went into the boy's dormitory building, luckily everyone seemed to be out and about and no one questioned us on the stairs or in the corridor. I was just starting to look at all the doors wondering which room was Nathan's, when Kate texted me to tell me it was 111.

_I wonder how she found out._

"I know the room number." I told Chloe. "Can you stay here in case Nathan or any other trouble shows up?"

"Yeah of course, but be fast, I don't have a good reason to be standing here." She said ushering me down the corridor.

I found room 111 and tried the handle, it was locked. Even Victoria didn't have a lock on her room, Prescotts really get to do whatever they like. I found that quite irritating and took some satisfaction from grabbing a nearby fire extinguisher and smashing his lock in. Chloe raised her eyebrows but no one came running, but I rewound the damage once I was inside his room anyway.

There was something unsettling about the atmosphere in Nathan's room, the blinds were closed and a projector flickered a blank image at the wall. I turned on the light hoping that it would look better. The light turned my attention to the art on his walls which seemed to be mostly photos of women tied up and lying in dark spaces. I supposed the models were consenting and that some people would find the photos very artistic, but they made me uncomfortable to look at. 

I began to do what I do best, and search his room. I pulled open the drawer nearest me which was mostly empty but my attention was drawn to some papers at the back. The first one had handwriting on it which I recognised as Chloe's, as it hadn't really changed since we were kids. 

**Hey asshole, we need to talk. Or I'm going to tell everybody what you did. And you're going to pay motherfucker.**

I gulped, imagining Nathan receiving this and becoming enraged, before finally deciding to meet her and taking a gun which he would have used to kill her if I hadn't stopped him. I looked at the next bit of paper which was a photo of Chloe lying on the carpet of this room. She was half curled up and didn't really look conscious. It reminded me of the photos on his walls which made me feel sick. I remembered Chloe telling me how she escaped, and it didn't take long to spot the broken lamp she must've kicked over. I knew Nathan could easily buy a hundred lamps, it was like he was keeping it as a trophy. 

The rest of his room contained expected items: photos, extremely expensive cameras and equipment, more medications, school books, and so on. But every now and then I'd find something more disturbing like his porn under the bed; or the manual for the gun he shot Chloe with; or perhaps worst of all, one of my selfies which he had stolen and hung on his wall. I forced myself to leave it, I didn't want to make it immediately obvious who had been here. 

I stood in the centre of the room, there had to be more to find but I didn't know where to look. I found myself staring at the thin carpet where Chloe had lain drugged, which is when I noticed the scrapes in it next to one end of his ugly leather sofa. It looked like someone had repeatedly pulled the sofa from the wall. I slid the left end out along the scrapes that were already there and peered behind the sofa. A couple of clear bags were taped to the back of the sofa. One had pills in it, I ignored it, the other contained a phone and some folded paper, that was probably far more valuable to our investigation. I grabbed it and slid the sofa back.

I decided to do a rewind once I got into the hall so that, aside from the bag I was stealing, nothing else would look out at all out of place. I didn't know how often Nathan used that phone but with any luck it would be a while until he realised anyone had been in there, especially with his door still locked.

I headed straight back to Chloe. 

"Damn, that was fast, I mean it felt like ages anyway, but still, I take it you..." She twirled her finger.

"Yeah, I didn't want him knowing I'd been there." I explained. 

"Good idea, did you find anything?" She asked.

I handed her the phone and decided not to mention the photos of either of us because she'd probably want to storm in and get them which would completely give us away. "I think we've got him." I said.

"By the balls, fucker..." She said, examining the phone. 

Then Nathan stormed into the dorms, he still looked angry, like whatever had sent him storming off of campus earlier was still bugging him. He saw us and faltered for a moment, looking surprised. Chloe had had the good sense to shove his phone in her back pocket as he stormed up to us, angry demeanor resumed, and demanded to know what we were doing in his dorm. We backed away, neither of us knew what to say, I felt silly for not preparing an excuse. 

"You're such a nosy bitch Max!" He screamed and lunged at me, but Chloe stepped between us and pushed his shoulders back firmly. 

I thought Nathan was going to kill Chloe again, but that was when Warren burst out of his room and shoved Nathan away from both of us before grabbing him and headbutting him, knocking him to the floor. 

"You're so fucking dead." Gasped Nathan, and he took out his gun again. I raised my hand to rewind, but before I could react, Warren kicked it hard out of his hands before following up with another kick to his stomach. 

"Get off me." Whined Nathan.

Warren continued to kick him. "You like to hurt people, huh?" He panted between kicks. "Like Max?... Like Kate?... Like me?... Feel this, fucker." He said before reaching down and beginning to punch Nathan in the face.

"Get off... Me, please... Please stop." Whispered Nathan. His face was bleeding and he was crying.

Warren looked down at his bloody bruised fists and at Nathan looking a bit bewildered, and stood up and left the dorms without saying anything or looking at us. 

Nathan rolled over covering his face with his hands still whimpering to make it stop. Chloe picked up his gun and tucked it inside her jacket. "We need to go." She told me, smirking at Nathan, although I thought I sensed some pity from her.

I didn't move, was it really okay to let this happen, even to Nathan? For Warren's sake too, I'd never seen him like that, and he'd probably end up being kicked out of school and facing Prescott lawyers, or worse, Nathan would get even. I decided not to run this one by Chloe because I knew it wouldn't take much convincing to make me leave Nathan exactly how he was, and I rewound. I didn't go back far, we still needed Warren to get Nathan away from Chloe.

After Warren kicked Nathan's gun from his hands, and kicked him in the stomach again, I grabbed Warren as he began to kick Nathan on the floor. I noticed an angry look come over him as he began to kick Nathan while he was down that I didn't like and I was glad to defuse it. "Warren, stop it. Come on, he's down." I said.

No sooner had I said that, Nathan had his fingers clasped around his gun again and was staggering back to his feet. "Let's go, now!" Yelled Chloe, pushing both of us towards the door at the end of the corridor. 

"You're all fucking dead." Raged Nathan after us. "Plus, my dad is on his way, you're all fucked, he owns all of you!"

We slammed the door behind us and ran down the stairs two at a time to the safety of the other people outside. 

We stood on the immaculate grass, panting. "Thank you Warren." I said. 

"For what?" He asked.

"For headbutting Nathan Prescott! That was amazing." Chloe said.

He shook his head. "I don't know, I almost went crazy there... like... like Nathan." 

I paused, thinking about him on his knees repeatedly punching Nathan's face to a pulp. But he didn't and couldn't know about any of that, in the end what he had ended up doing was necessary. "You're not like him." I assured him.

He perked up a bit. "Good to know. So where are you off to? I had better stick with you guys in case things get dangerous again." He said.

"Um..." I began.

Chloe interjected. "Warren, me and Max have to do this on our own. No offense."

He looked a bit deflated. "It's cool." He said in a voice that suggested otherwise. "Whatever I can do to help..."

"Actually, what you could do is find out anything you can about Nathan's father." I suggested.

"Yeah, I'm on it. I don't know what you're up to, but between the snow and the eclipse, I'm assuming the apocalypse is around the corner." He said.

"Thank you Warren, I'll call you later." I told him.

"You better, I'm feeling pretty alpha now." He said puffing out his chest.

"Uh, yeah." I said in a voice that I hoped sounded sincere. 

After Warren left, Chloe turned to me. "Wow, that guy is so fucking in love with you." She smirked.

"Yeah I know..." I said.

"He really did give Nathan a serious beatdown." She said with some admiration.

_You have no idea._

"Yeah well I honestly found it a bit scary to watch." I told her.

She nodded. "Now let's make a date with Frank..."

"Will he answer you?" I asked.

"Yeah, he wants money." Said Chloe, rolling her eyes.

She took her phone out and began texting. After a short pause she said, "Like I said, he wants to see me right now."


	26. 4.6

We parked at the beach by the rotting dead whales. Where, for some morbid reason, Frank had chosen to park his RV. Maybe he enjoyed the stench of decay.

I shivered slightly in the sea breeze. "I'm looking forward to the day all this is over and we can just go on that road trip to Portland," I said. 

"Fuck yeah." Said Chloe, loading and then tucking away her gun into her jacket pocket in a way that made me uneasy. "Just you, me... and Rachel."

I ignored the gun. "Absolutely. So, uh, let's play this cool, okay? Pay Frank with that money we really shouldn't have taken and get some info off him about what drugs Nathan has been buying and when."

"Got it, no dicking around." She said, and walked up to the RV and knocked.

Frank lazily threw the door open and rolled his eyes. "You should have come alone." He said to Chloe.

"She's cool," Chloe said hastily. 

"Whatever, where's my fucking money?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at Chloe. I nodded at her, sensing Frank's tension, and she handed over an envelope. I could always rewind if giving him the money before we got information didn't work.

"Thank you." He said sarcastically. "Now, let's not do any business again ever. If you'll excuse me..."

"Frank," Chloe interrupted. "Can we ask you a few questions quickly?"

"You guys have serious ladyballs... No." He said. And Chloe and I looked at each other defeated. He eyed our expressions for a moment before giving in. "Jesus, fine, but I'm not getting you high."

I prayed Chloe wouldn't pass comment on not be allowed to get high before assuring him it wasn't what we were here for. "So, what do you want?" He asked. 

I cringed internally at how bad I knew this was going to sound. "Just the names of some of your clients..." I tried to play it casual.

"Oh... Is that all? Why didn't you just say, would you like the keys to my RV while I'm at it?" He said looking stunned at my audacity. I held back my comments on how he had already given me the keys to his RV and I apologised instead. "Look, first I give you a bit of information because you say it's important, but then you'll end up needing more and more. Chloe is familiar with that scenario, aren't you?"

"Frank, please, this isn't about me." Said Chloe. 

Frank shook his head. "No deal." He grumbled and grabbed the door of his RV and began to close it. 

"Frank, please. We didn't come here to fight, this is so much bigger than us." I pleaded in a last-ditch attempt. 

He stopped closing the door and looked amused. "You? You come in peace? After you fucking aimed a gun at me and pulled the trigger." He snorted.

I decided to avoid making lame excuses and tell the truth. "To be honest... You scared me, you pulled a knife on my friend. I really didn't want to pull the trigger. I swear." 

He nodded slightly and let go of the door. "I could tell by the way you were holding that pop gun... Both hands like it was a magnum." He scratched his goatee. "Maybe I shouldn't have brought that knife to a gunfight..."

"I promise I only want to shoot with my camera," I said. Which sounded a bit lame but that was probably for the best. 

"Are we cool? Please?" Asked Chloe.

"Fine. We are, for now. But my dog isn't. So if you try any shit he will bite your head off. He has done it before." He said gesturing at Pompidou. After seeing pictures of Pompidou snuggling with Rachel and how easily Chloe had won him over with a bone I was no longer very scared of him, but I needed to act as though I'd never met this dog before. 

I nodded quickly as though Pompidou did indeed scare me. "We won't mess with your dog, we'd just like to talk."

"Shit, you wouldn't be able to mess with him... You like dogs?" He asked.

"Uh yeah, Pompidou is-" I began.

_Shit._

_I'm not supposed to know his dog's name._

I rewound. "I love dogs. Yours is so well trained." I said instead. 

Frank almost smiled I think. "Yeah, he had a bad trainer before. Real bad. But that dude is dead now. And I trained Pompidou how to be my friend."

"That dog is so lucky you came along," I said.

Chloe sighed slightly. "Maybe we can focus on finding Rachel now?" She asked us.

"Rachel? Is that why you're really here?" He asked.

"We're so close to her now Frank, help us figure it out, please?" I said.

He crossed his arms. "You two don't know her like I did and even I couldn't help her. You're in way over your heads, you should go and play in your clubhouse." Once again he reached for his door.

I could feel our chance at a lead slipping away again so I took a risk. "The photo." I said quickly. "Rachel said she gave you one of her favourite photos. That proves how much she cares... and you care. So please, you have to help."

He squinted at me. "How the hell do you know about that photo? It's my favourite picture of her. Any time I look at it, she's there for me... I can't stand not knowing where she is. Not hearing her voice... Her laugh... Anymore. If there's a chance in hell you two dorks can find Rachel, I'll take it. Pompidou isn't barking at you so I'll take that as a good sign." He conceded and handed Chloe a copy of his client list.

"Thank you, Frank," I said.

"Yeah, seriously, thanks." Added Chloe. 

"It's hard to take you two seriously, but I want to. Good luck. Screw me over, and you'll regret it though." He said and he closed his RV.

We walked away, I was unsure what I thought of Frank, but perhaps there was some good in him, maybe that was what Rachel had seen.


End file.
